an instrument that records the intensity and duration of earthquakes and similar tremors
Origin of seismograph
seismo- + -graph
The seismic activity of an earthquake is recorded on a seismograph.
The definition of a seismograph is a measuring instrument for earthquakes that tracks duration and magnitude.
A device used to measure the duration and magnitude of a San Francisco earthquake is an example of a seismograph.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"seismograph." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph>.
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seismograph. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph
seismograph
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"seismograph." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph>.
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seismograph. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph
seismograph
noun
An instrument for automatically detecting and recording the intensity, direction, and duration of a movement of the ground, especially of an earthquake.
Related Forms:
- seis·mog′ra·pher
noun
- seis′mo·graph′ic seis′mo·graph′i·cal
adjective
- seis·mog′ra·phy
noun
seismograph
data relating to the 1994 earthquake in Northridge, California
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"seismograph." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph>.
APA Style
seismograph. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph
An instrument that detects and records vibrations and movements in the Earth, especially during an earthquake. Most seismographs employ a pendulum mounted within a rigid framework and connected to a mechanical, optical, or electromagnetic recording device. When the Earth vibrates or shakes, inertia keeps the pendulum steady with respect to the movements of the frame, producing a graphic record of the duration and intensity of the Earth's movements. Separate instruments are needed to record the north-south horizontal, east-west horizontal, and vertical components of a tremor. By comparing the records produced by seismographs located in three or more locations across the Earth, the location and strength of an earthquake can be determined.
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MLA Style
"seismograph." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph>.
APA Style
seismograph. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph
Noun
(plural seismographs)
- An instrument that automatically detects and records the intensity, direction and duration of earthquakes and similar events.
Origin
From seismo- +"Ž -graph.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"seismograph." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph>.
APA Style
seismograph. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Seismograph
Sentence Examples
- The Galitzin seismograph, devised by Prince Galitzin, is of the same type, but it essentially differs from the Milne instrument in having its pendulum dead-beat; this is brought about by an electromagnetic device.
WORDS NEAR seismograph IN THE DICTIONARY
- seismograph
- seismogenic-zones
- seismogram
- seismogramme