vena contracta

[ vee-nuhkuhn-trak-tuh ]

noun,plural ve·nae con·trac·tae [vee-nee kuhn-trak-tee]. /ˈvi ni kənˈtræk ti/. Hydraulics.
  1. any of the locations in a jet of fluid emerging from an orifice where the cross section of the jet is at a minimum, especially the location of minimum cross section nearest the orifice.

Origin of vena contracta

1
<New Latin: contracted vein

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024