polygraph
noun
Did you know?
With its graph- root, polygraph indicates that it writes out several different results. A polygraph's output consists of a set of squiggly lines on a computer screen, each indicating one function being tested. The functions most commonly measured are blood pressure, breathing rate, pulse, and perspiration, all of which tend to increase when you lie. Polygraphs have been in use since 1924, and have gotten more sensitive over the years, though many experts still believe that they're unreliable and that a prepared liar can fool the machine. They're used not only for law enforcement but perhaps more often by employers--often the police department itself!--who don't want to hire someone who has broken the law in the past but won't admit to it.
Examples of polygraph in a Sentence
Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 8 July 2025
The first test was inconclusive and she was threatened again with being thrown into the East River by the man administering the polygraph, Clark said.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 27 May 2025
Baker passed a polygraph test arranged by his attorney.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2025
Nova Scotia's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Wednesday that investigators have conducted polygraph interviews as part of the effort to determine what happened to Lilly and Jack Sullivan, siblings who vanished from their home in Lansdowne Station on May 2.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for polygraph
Cite this Entry
“Polygraph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polygraph. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
polygraph
noun
Medical Definition
polygraph
noun
Legal Definition
polygraph
noun
Share