Adjacent Words

thermostat definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat [syn: thermostat, thermoregulator] v
1: control the temperature with a thermostat

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 1831 an automatic device for regulating temperature (as by controlling the supply of gas or electricity to a heating apparatus); also a similar device for actuating fire alarms or for controlling automatic sprinklers • thermostatic adjective • thermostatically adverb II. transitive verb (thermostated; also -statted; -stating; also -statting) Date: 1924 to provide with or control the temperature of by a thermostat

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a device that automatically regulates temperature, or that activates a device when the temperature reaches a certain point. Derivatives: thermostatic adj. thermostatically adv. Etymology: THERMO- + Gk statos standing

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thermostat Ther"mo*stat, n. [Thermo- + Gr. ? to make to stand.] (Physics) A self-acting apparatus for regulating temperature by the unequal expansion of different metals, liquids, or gases by heat, as in opening or closing the damper of a stove, or the like, as the heat becomes greater or less than is desired.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(thermostats) A thermostat is a device that switches a system or motor on or off according to the temperature. Thermostats are used, for example, in central heating systems and fridges. N-COUNT