Definition of "thermostat" []

• A device, as in a home heating system, a refrigerator, or an air conditioner, that automatically responds to temperature changes and activates switches controlling the equipment. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In that context, he says, tinkering with the thermostat is almost meaningless."
• "Indeed, even a thermostat is an aggregate of matter making a truth claim (and modifying its behavior based on that claim) about another aggregate of matter (the air)."
• "Now that it's November, our office thermostat is set lower - some might say, chilly, or even, perhaps, freezing."