Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An apparatus for measuring the acuity of the sense of smell.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An instrument for measuring the acuteness of the sense of smell.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A device used to measure the acuity of a person's sense of smell
  • noun A device used to measure odour intensity, and concentrations of volatile organic compounds, by means of their smell.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[olfact(ion) + –meter.]

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Examples

  • Using an 'olfactometer' (six tubes radiating out from a central point) packed with damp sand for the nematodes to crawl through, Ivan Hiltpold inserted capillaries into the sand, which released different odours at the end of three of the olfactometer's arms.

    EurekAlert! - Breaking News 2010

  • Using an 'olfactometer' (six tubes radiating out from a central point) packed with damp sand for the nematodes to crawl through, Ivan Hiltpold inserted capillaries into the sand, which released different odours at the end of three of the olfactometer's arms.

    RedOrbit News - Technology 2010

  • Using an 'olfactometer' (six tubes radiating out from a central point) packed with damp sand for the nematodes to crawl through, Ivan Hiltpold inserted capillaries into the sand, which released different odours at the end of three of the olfactometer's arms.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

  • Using an 'olfactometer' (six tubes radiating out from a central point) packed with damp sand for the nematodes to crawl through, Ivan Hiltpold inserted capillaries into the sand, which released different odours at the end of three of the olfactometer's arms.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

  • Using an 'olfactometer' (six tubes radiating out from a central point) packed with damp sand for the nematodes to crawl through, Ivan Hiltpold inserted capillaries into the sand, which released different odours at the end of three of the olfactometer's arms.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

  • For this they used a so-called Y-tube olfactometer that allows mosquitoes to make a choice and fly toward or away from an individual's hand.

    Finding Smells That Repel 2009

  • This author, who made observations on Japanese with Zwaardemaker's olfactometer, found that, contrary to an opinion sometimes stated, they have a somewhat defective sense of smell.

    Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 4 Sexual Selection In Man Havelock Ellis 1899

  • The invention of his first olfactometer in 1888 and the appearance in 1895 of his great work _Die Physiologie des Geruchs_ have served to give the physiology of the sense of smell an assured status and to open the way anew for much fruitful investigation, while a number of inquirers in many countries have had their attention directed to the elucidation of this sense.

    Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 4 Sexual Selection In Man Havelock Ellis 1899

  • To test this suspicion, the team devised an aroma-based experimental set-up called an olfactometer.

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • But what really sent the story into complete Weird Science Nirvana was the method used for distinguishing the eau de poule: "an automated olfactometer which assessed the ability of trained mice to discriminate between the odors."

    Ars Technica John Timmer 2011

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