pear gauge

noun

A kind of gauge for measuring the exhaustion (creation of a vacuum) of an air pump receiver (airtight vessel from which air is pumped in order to form a vacuum).

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Meanings

nounpear gauge (plural pear gauges)

plural pear gauges

  1. historicalnatural sciencesA kind of gauge for measuring the exhaustion (creation of a vacuum) of an air pump receiver (airtight vessel from which air is pumped in order to form a vacuum).

Origin

So called by its inventor, John Smeaton, in the mid-18th century, because it consisted in part of a pear-shaped glass vessel.

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Cite this entry
APA

pear gauge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pear%20gauge

MLA

“pear gauge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pear%20gauge. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pear gauge,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pear%20gauge.

Source: pear gauge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.