piston
Use Piston in a sentence
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.
Origin:
1695–1705; < French < Italian pistone piston, a learned alteration of pestone large pestle, equivalent to pest(are) to pound (variant of Medieval Latin pistare, derivative of Latin pīstus past participle of pīnsere to pound) + -one augmentative suffix
1695–1705; < French < Italian pistone piston, a learned alteration of pestone large pestle, equivalent to pest(are) to pound (variant of Medieval Latin pistare, derivative of Latin pīstus past participle of pīnsere to pound) + -one augmentative suffix
Related forms
pis·ton·like, adjective
sub·pis·ton, noun
00:10
Piston
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To piston
Collins
World English Dictionary
piston (ˈpɪstən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 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 | |
| [C18: via French from Old Italian pistone, from pistare to pound, grind, from Latin pinsere to crush, beat] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
piston
1704, from Fr. piston, from M.Fr. piston "large pestle," from O.It. pistone, variant of pestone "a pestle," from pestare "to pound," from L.L. pistare, freq. of L. pinsere (pp. pistus) "to pound" (see pestle).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
piston (pĭs'tən) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) 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. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Nearby Words
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