chronometer

noun

chro·​nom·​e·​ter krə-ˈnä-mə-tər 

plural chronometers

: timepiece

I don't know about you, but by the time the short fat hand of my analog chronometer is on the six, I'm about ready to take the rest of the day off.

—Stanley Bing

especially : one designed to keep time with great accuracy despite external forces

Self-educated English clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776) found the answer by inventing a chronometer—a friction-free timepiece, impervious to pitch and roll, temperature and humidity—that would carry the true time from the home port to any destination.

—Genevieve Stuttaford

Synonyms

• clock
• timekeeper
• timepiece
• timer

Examples of chronometer in a Sentence

a fancy new chronometer that is light-years more advanced than your average wristwatch

Recent Examples on the Web

The certification process adheres to the stringent ISO 3159 standard for chronometers, ensuring that the Ultra-Chron Carbon meets or exceeds international benchmarks for precision timekeeping. —Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025

The museum always had a section dedicated to the Hamilton Watch Company, including pocket watches, wristwatches, chronometers, desk clocks, and the first-ever electric watch. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Fit with the caliber 215 PS, a manually wound chronometer with small seconds, the timepiece markes the first time in watchmaking history that C.O.S.C (Switzerland’s official chronometer certification bureau) and the Geneva Seal Authority issued a joint individual rating for a watch. —Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 27 Oct. 2024

Nardin’s heritage in marine chronometers while continuing to push the envelope in modern horology. —Matthew Catellier, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

chrono- + -meter

Note: Apparently first used in English by the clergyman and natural philosopher William Derham (1657-1735) in Physico-Theology; or a Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation (London, 1714); see Wolfgang Köberer, "On the First Use of the Term 'Chronometer'," The Mariner's Mirror, vol. 106, no. 2 (2016), pp. 203-06. In French chronomètre was used for a metronome-like device by the musician and pedagogue Étienne Loulié in Elements ou principes de musique (Paris, 1696).

First Known Use

circa 1676, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chronometer

noun

chro·​nom·​e·​ter krə-ˈnäm-ət-ər 

: an instrument for measuring time

especially : one intended to keep time with great exactness

chronometric

ˌkrän-ə-ˈme-trik

ˌkrō-nə-

adjective

also chronometrical

-tri-kəl

Medical Definition

chronometer

noun

chro·​nom·​e·​ter krə-ˈnäm-ət-ər 

: an instrument for measuring time

especially : one designed to keep time with great accuracy