shot tower


noun

a tower from the top of which finely divided streams of molten lead are dropped down a central well, breaking up into spherical drops during their fall to be quenched and hardened in a tank of water at the bottom.

Origin of shot tower

First recorded in 1810–20

Example sentences from the Web for shot tower

British Dictionary definitions for shot tower

shot tower

noun

a building formerly used in the production of shot, in which molten lead was graded and dropped from a great height into water, thus cooling it and forming the shot