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gyrocompass
noun
gy·ro·com·pass
ˈjÄ«-rÅ?-ËŒkÉ™m-pÉ™s
also -ˌkäm-
: a compass consisting of a continuously driven gyroscope whose spinning axis is confined to a horizontal plane so that the earth's rotation causes it to assume a position parallel to the earth's axis and thus point to the true north
Examples of gyrocompass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His submarine tumbled flailing into the water, its gyrocompass already broken.
—
Chieko Tsuneoka, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2021
Among the downstream effects of the steam-engine malfunction was the failure of the gyrocompass, the principal tool that the Palau’s navigation team relied upon.
—
Annie Murphy Paul, Wired, 15 June 2024
Without the gyrocompass, the team had to manually ascertain the position of the ship, relying on bearings taken from multiple landmarks on shore.
—
Annie Murphy Paul, Wired, 15 June 2024
When Perry was writing, gyrocompasses were cutting-edge, immature technology.
—
Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2018
The first of these is the EM3000 multi-beam sonar — a portable hydrographic mapping system consisting of a transducer, motion sensor, gyrocompass, and navigation system.
—
Louise Knapp, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2001
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Word History
First Known Use
1910, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near gyrocompass
Cite this Entry
“Gyrocompass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gyrocompass. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
gyrocompass
noun
gy·ro·com·pass
ˈjÄ«-rÅ?-ËŒkÉ™m-pÉ™s
also -ˌkäm-
: a compass consisting of a constantly spinning gyroscope whose spin axis is always parallel to the earth's axis of rotation so that the compass always points to true north
More from Merriam-Webster on gyrocompass
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gyrocompass
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