Meanings
plural pitot tubes
- aeronauticsA pressure measuring instrument used to measure fluid flow velocity, especially used to determine the airspeed of an aircraft.
Synonyms: pitot head
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pressure measuring instrument used to measure fluid flow velocity, especially used to determine the airspeed of an aircraft.
More synonyms by meaning
nounmeasuring instrument consisting of a right-angled tube with an open end that is directed in opposition to the flow of a fluid and used to measure the velocity of fluid flow
nounmeasuring instrument consisting of a combined Pitot tube and static tube that measures total and static pressure; used in aircraft to measure airspeed
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Name for Italian-born French engineer Henri Pitot who invented the device in the early 1700s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 皮托管, 空速管
- 皮托管 (Pítuōguǎn)pressure measuring instrument
- 空速管 (kōngsùguǎn)pressure measuring instrument
Finnish pitot-putki
- pitot-putkipressure measuring instrument
French tube de Pitot
- tube de Pitotpressure measuring instrument
Russian приёмник возду́шного давле́ния
- приёмник возду́шного давле́ния (prijómnik vozdúšnovo davlénija)pressure measuring instrument
Spanish tubo de Pitot, tubo pitot
- tubo de Pitotpressure measuring instrument
- tubo pitotpressure measuring instrument
Cite this entry
pitot tube. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitot%20tube
“pitot tube.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitot%20tube. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pitot tube,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitot%20tube.
Source: pitot tube on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.