What does barometer mean?
Word: Barometer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Barometer means an instrument that measures air pressure and helps people predict the weather; also, anything that shows how things are changing.
Synonyms: gauge
How do you spell barometer?
Syllables: ba - rom - e - ter
Tricky part: There is only one r after ba, so barrometer is wrong.
Watch out for: barrometer, barameter
Memory tip: Air pressure is measured in bars and millibars, so begin with bar, with just one r.
Barometer in a sentence
Example 1: The barometer at the school weather station showed the pressure falling fast.
Example 2: Ticket sales are a good barometer of how popular a new film really is.
Example 3: Grandfather glanced at the barometer on the wall before he set out on his morning walk.
Fun Fact
In 1648 Blaise Pascal's brother-in-law carried a barometer up a mountain in France and showed that the reading fell as he climbed.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word barometer as used in the sentence:
Exam results are not the only barometer of how well a school is doing.
a) reward
b) rival
c) indicator
d) obstacle
Show answer
c) indicator. Here barometer is used as a sign that shows how things stand, which is an indicator.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The farmer tapped the brass baromiter on the veranda and said that heavy rain would arrive by evening.
a) brass
b) heavy
c) baromiter
d) evening
Show answer
c) baromiter. Barometer has an e after the m, like the measuring words that end in -meter.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The old ebrmtaroe in the ship's cabin had a round dial and a thin black needle.
a) arboretum
b) barometer
c) bartender
d) baritone
Show answer
b) barometer. Arboretum is the closest look-alike, but it needs a u; baritone needs an i and an n, and bartender an n and a d.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. humidity 2. tempreture 3. drizzle 4. barometer
a) light rain falling in very small drops
b) an instrument that measures the pressure of the air
c) the amount of water vapour in the air
d) how hot or cold something is
Show answer
d) how hot or cold something is. Temperature has an a after the r; barometer, humidity and drizzle are all spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Before the age of satellites, sailors watched the barometer closely because ____.
a) it showed which way was north
b) it measured the depth of the sea
c) it told them the time at sea
d) a falling reading warned of a storm
Show answer
d) a falling reading warned of a storm
2. The barometer that Torricelli made in 1643 used a glass tube of ____.
a) mercury
b) sand
c) water
d) oil
Show answer
a) mercury
