noun
- an instrument used to measure the area of an irregular plane figure by tracing its perimeter
Usage: technical; engineering
Examples
- The engineer used a planimeter to calculate the area of the irregularly shaped plot of land.
- Students in the surveying class learned how to operate a digital planimeter.
- The planimeter gave an accurate measurement of the lake’s surface area from the map.
- Before computer software, architects relied on planimeters to measure floor plan areas.
- The polar planimeter is one of the most common types used in technical drawing.
- She traced the boundary of the region carefully with the planimeter’s tracer arm.