[ noun ] any measuring instrument that uses interference patterns to make accurate measurements of waves <noun.artifact>
Interferometer \In`ter*fe*rom"e*ter\, n. [See {Interfere} and -meter.] (Physics) An instrument for measuring small movements, distances, or displacements by means of the interference of two beams of light; -- formerly also called also {refractometer}, but that word now has a different meaning. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]