Meaning & use
calibration
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
The process of checking and adjusting an instrument so that its readings agree with a trusted standard.
Grammar: Uncountable for the process: calibration is needed; countable for one instance: a calibration.
Patterns
- the calibration of something
- calibration against something
The scale needs calibration every year to stay accurate.
Technicians performed a careful calibration of the thermometer.
Regular calibration helps the lab trust its measurements.
nounusually pluraltechnical
A set of marks on an instrument that show units of measurement.
Grammar: Usually plural: the calibrations on the cylinder were hard to read.
Patterns
- calibrations on something
The calibrations on the measuring jug were almost worn away.
Read the calibrations at eye level to avoid mistakes.
Fine calibrations on the ruler let her measure to the millimeter.
noununcountablefigurative
The careful adjustment of a plan, judgment, or response so that it is exactly right for the situation.
Grammar: Figurative use: a calibration of tone, or a policy calibration.
Patterns
- the calibration of something to something
The speech needed careful calibration so it would not offend anyone.
The central bank's calibration of interest rates was closely watched.
Good teaching involves constant calibration of the difficulty of tasks.
Word forms
| plural | calibrations |
|---|
Common combinations
- calibration error
- A small calibration error made every reading slightly too high.
- calibration curve
- The chemist plotted a calibration curve to find the concentration.
- require calibration
- All the instruments require calibration before the experiment.
- precise calibration
- The machine depends on precise calibration to cut accurately.
- calibration of the scales
- The calibration of the scales is checked each morning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adjustment
- Adjustment is a general word for any small change, while calibration means adjusting against a known standard.
- tuning
- Tuning suggests fine changes to improve performance, whereas calibration is about making measurements accurate.
- standardization
- Standardization makes things the same across many items, while calibration sets one instrument correctly.
- fine-tuning
- Fine-tuning is used widely, even for non-technical things, while calibration sounds more precise and scientific.
Word family
- calibrate verb
- to adjust an instrument or method to a standard
- calibrated adjective
- set or adjusted to be accurate
- recalibrate verb
- to calibrate again, or to adjust a plan
- recalibration noun
- the act of calibrating again
- calibrator noun
- a device or person that calibrates
Commonly confused: calibration or caliber?
calibration vs caliber
Caliber (British calibre) means the width of a gun barrel or the quality of a person. It looks similar but is about size or quality, not adjusting instruments.
Practice
The lab technician spent the morning on the ___ of the pressure gauges so that every reading matched the reference standard.
Choose one answer.
Calibration is the adjustment of instruments to a known standard. Calculation is a math process, and celebration and collaboration are unrelated words that only look or sound similar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “calibration”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.