speedometer

Everyday

An instrument in a car, bike, train or other vehicle that shows how fast it is going. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life a car's speedometer shows speed in miles per hour (UK and USA) or kilometres per hour (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland). In maths and science lessons, it links to speed = distance ÷ time; road safety lessons remind drivers to keep to speed limits.

Examples

• The speedometer showed 30 miles per hour. tree →
• Dad checked the speedometer as we passed the school. tree →
• My bike has a little speedometer on the handlebars. tree →
• In Ireland, speedometers show kilometres per hour. tree →
• The needle on the speedometer went up as the train sped along. tree →
• The speedometer reads 0 when the car is parked. tree →

Note

Countable. Say «spee-DOM-ih-ter». A speedometer shows speed at this moment, not average speed. In maths: 60 mph means 60 miles in one hour; 1 mile ≈ 1.6 km.