THERMOSTAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does thermostat mean? 

• THERMOSTAT (noun)
  The noun THERMOSTAT has 1 sense:

1. a regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat

  Familiarity information: THERMOSTAT used as a noun is very rare.

• THERMOSTAT (verb)
  The verb THERMOSTAT has 1 sense:

1. control the temperature with a thermostat

  Familiarity information: THERMOSTAT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THERMOSTAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

thermoregulator; thermostat

Hypernyms ("thermostat" is a kind of...):

regulator (any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.)

Meronyms (parts of "thermostat"):

bimetallic strip (a strip consisting of two metals that bends with a rise in temperature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "thermostat"):

cryostat (a thermostat that operates at very low temperatures)

pyrostat (a thermostat that operates at very high temperatures)

Holonyms ("thermostat" is a part of...):

cooling system; engine cooling system (equipment in a motor vehicle that cools the engine)

brooder; incubator (apparatus consisting of a box designed to maintain a constant temperature by the use of a thermostat; used for chicks or premature infants)

Derivation:

thermostat (control the temperature with a thermostat)

thermostatic (of or relating to a thermostat)

• THERMOSTAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they thermostat    ... he / she / it thermostats   
Past simple: thermostated    / thermostatted   
Past participle: thermostated    / thermostatted   
-ing form: thermostating    / thermostatting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Control the temperature with a thermostat

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "thermostat" is one way to...):

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate (lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

thermostat (a regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat)

 Context examples 

However, current conditions are quite different from the last time around: the global thermostat was much lower back then, winter sea ice stretched farther south than New York Harbour, and the ocean structure would have been much different.

(A new study is the first to measure the time lags between changing ocean currents and major climate shifts., University of Cambridge)