Piston


[pis-tuh n] /ˈpɪs tən/

noun
1.
a disk or cylindrical part tightly fitting and moving within a cylinder, either to compress or move a fluid collected in the cylinder, as air or water, or to transform energy imparted by a fluid entering or expanding inside the cylinder, as compressed air, explosive gases, or steam, into a rectilinear motion usually transformed into rotary motion by means of a connecting rod.
2.
a pumplike valve used to change the pitch in a cornet or the like.
[pis-tuh n] /ˈpɪs tən/
noun
1.
Walter, 1894–1976, U.S. composer.
/ˈpɪstən/
noun
1.
a disc or cylindrical part that slides to and fro in a hollow cylinder. In an internal-combustion engine it is forced to move by the expanding gases in the cylinder head and is attached by a pivoted connecting rod to a crankshaft or flywheel, thus converting reciprocating motion into rotation
n.

1704, from French piston, from Middle French piston “large pestle,” from Old Italian pistone “a piston,” variant of pestone “a pestle,” from pestare “to pound,” from Late Latin pistare, frequentative of Latin pinsere (past participle pistus) “to pound” (see pestle). As a verb from 1930.
piston
(pĭs’tən)

A solid cylinder or disk that fits snugly into a hollow cylinder and moves back and forth under the pressure of a fluid (typically a hot gas formed by combustion, as in many engines), or moves or compresses a fluid, as in a pump or compressor.

Read Also:

  • Piston-engine

    noun 1. .

  • Piston-ring

    noun 1. a metallic ring, usually one of a series, and split so as to be expansible, placed around a piston in order to maintain a tight fit, as inside the cylinder of an engine. noun 1. a split ring, usually made of cast iron, that fits into a groove on the rim of a […]

  • Piston-pin

    noun 1. .

  • Piston-rod

    noun 1. a rod communicating the rectilinear motion of a piston to the small end of a connecting rod or elsewhere. noun 1. the rod that connects the piston of a reciprocating steam engine to the crosshead 2. a less common name for a connecting rod

  • Piston slap

    noun 1. the characteristic sound of a seriously worn piston in a cylinder (usually of the engine of a motor car)


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