stethoscope

stethoscope — noun

1. a medical tool that doctors and nurses use to hear sounds inside the body, such

1.nounB1
Definition

a medical tool that doctors and nurses use to hear sounds inside the body, such as a person's heartbeat or the movement of air in the lungs.

Example

Tanvi placed the stethoscope on the patient's chest to check her heartbeat.

action: place a stethoscope on [body part]

The nurse hung her stethoscope around her neck as she walked into the examination room.

Common collocations
  • use a stethoscope
  • place a stethoscope on
  • listen with a stethoscope
  • the cold metal of the stethoscope
  • wear a stethoscope around one's neck

Grammar Patterns

a/the stethoscope

stethoscope + verb

Common Mistakes

The doctor used a thermometer to listen to my lungs.
The doctor used a stethoscope to listen to my lungs.
a thermometer measures body temperature; a stethoscope is for hearing internal body sounds.

Word family

  • stethoscopic
    adjectiveC1
  • stethoscopically
    adverbC2

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • put a stethoscope to one's ears
  • hang a stethoscope around one's neck
  • press a stethoscope against the skin

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Stethoscope comes from the Greek words 'stēthos' (meaning chest) and 'skopein' (meaning to look at or examine). The instrument was invented in 1816 by French doctor René Laënnec, who rolled up paper to listen to a patient's chest instead of placing his ear directly on it — this was the first stethoscope.