piston
[ pis-tuh n ]
/ ˈpɪs tən /
noun
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.
a pumplike valve used to change the pitch in a cornet or the like.
Origin of piston
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
OTHER WORDS FROM piston
pis·ton·like, adjective sub·pis·ton, nounWords nearby piston
pistol-whip,
pistole,
pistoleer,
pistolero,
pistology,
piston,
piston engine,
piston pin,
piston ring,
piston rod,
piston slap
Definition for piston (2 of 2)
Piston
[ pis-tuh n ]
/ ˈpɪs tən /
noun
Walter,1894–1976,
U.S. composer.
Example sentences from the Web for piston
British Dictionary definitions for piston
piston
/ (ˈpɪstən) /
noun
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
Word Origin for piston
C18: via French from Old Italian
pistone, from
pistare to pound, grind, from Latin
pinsere to crush, beat
Scientific definitions for piston
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.