thermostat

/ˌθʌrməˈstæt/

/ˈθʌməstæt/

Other forms: thermostats; thermostated; thermostatted

If your house is always too cold in the winter, you might need to adjust the thermostat, or the dial that controls the indoor temperature.

Most devices that emit heat have a thermostat, which controls how hot or cold things get. Car engines, electric blankets, furnaces, and ovens are all equipped with thermostats so that people can change the temperature, or in the case of cars, so that the car itself can keep the engine at the ideal temperature. The noun thermostat comes from the Greek word for heat, thermos, plus statos, or "a standing."

Definitions of thermostat

1. noun

   a regulator for automatically regulating temperature by starting or stopping the supply of heat
   synonyms: thermoregulator

   types:

   cryostat

   a thermostat that operates at very low temperatures

   pyrostat

   a thermostat that operates at very high temperatures

   type of:

   regulator

   any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.
2. verb

   control the temperature with a thermostat
   type of:

   check, contain, control, curb, hold, hold in, moderate

   lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits