applauseometer

English

Alternative forms

• applausometer

Etymology

applause +‎ -o- +‎ -meter

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: əplôʹzōmē'tər, IPA^(key): /əˈplɔːzəʊˌmiːtə/

Noun

applauseometer (plural applauseometers)

1. (informal, US) A device of dubious accuracy used to measure the volume of an audience’s applause.
   • 1989, Nov.–Dec., The Alcalde, volume 78, № 2, page 24

     Its four-color animation board has message capabilities, angled lenses for easy daytime viewing, and an applauseometer, which measures the crowd’s Longhorn-cheering levels.

   • 2000, Marshal Scott Younger, The Great Kidsboro Takeover, Review and Herald Publishing Association, →ISBN, page 93, →ISBN:

     Again, there was scattered applause. I looked into the crowd at Nelson. He told me he was bringing a new invention — an applauseometer — to the debate.

   • 2001, Stanley Marcus, Quest for the Best, University of North Texas Press, →ISBN, page 27, →ISBN:

     Is the best measurable? If so, by what kind of instrumentation? Certainly not by an “applauseometer,” as used to record the volume of applause on the “Major Bowes Amateur Night Talent” shows during the heyday of radio. I know of no universal empirical devices, but I do believe that the best is discernible to the observant eye.

Synonyms

• clapometer