gyrocompass Hear it!

gyrocompass definition

gyro·com·pass (-kum′pəs)

noun

a compass consisting of a motor-operated gyroscope whose rotating axis, kept in a horizontal plane, takes a position parallel to the axis of the earth's rotation and thus points to the geographical north pole instead of to the magnetic pole

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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