piston
noun
pis·​ton
| \ ˈpi-stən
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Definition of piston
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a sliding piece moved by or moving against fluid pressure which usually consists of a short cylindrical body fitting within a cylindrical chamber or vessel along which it moves back and forth
2
: a sliding valve moving in a cylinder in a brass instrument which when depressed by a finger knob serves to lower the instrument's pitch
Piston
biographical name
Pis·​ton
| \ ˈpi-stən
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Definition of Piston (Entry 2 of 2)
Walter Hamor 1894–1976 American composer
Examples of piston in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Kurek made three pieces for the show including a bench from pallet wood; an old iron gate and flooring out of an old Baltimore row home and a table made out of a crankshaft, pistons and license plates. — Lyndi Mcnulty, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "An Eye for Art: Manchester artist fell in love with making ‘something cool out of nothing’," 14 Aug. 2019 The colorless, odorless gas is produced in high concentrations in piston-engine planes, but is removed through the exhaust system. — Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, "Emiliano Sala had high carbon monoxide level at time of fatal crash," 14 Aug. 2019 These are hydraulic, employing a stainless steel piston filled with oil that pushes the cab up and down. — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, "The up-and-down life of an Alabama elevator inspector," 10 Aug. 2019 This piston strategy is premised on the two models being equivalent. — Quanta Magazine, "In Quantum Games, There’s No Way to Play the Odds," 1 Apr. 2019 In the first round, the two boys jabbed with their elbows and fired their knees like pistons into the other’s stomach. — Shashank Bengalistaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Column One: Young Thai boxer looks like a lollipop, stings like a bee," 30 July 2019 And the vacuum needed to operate them is produced by the downward motion of the pistons inside the cylinders. — Ray Magliozzi, courant.com, "Car Talk: Give your small car the horn it deserves," 15 July 2019 With far fewer moving parts than pending obsolete piston engines, electrics are also inherently more reliable and will cost less. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Reduce money going to the 1% by getting a hybrid," 13 July 2019 When the motor isn't calling upon the turbocharger as much, the actuator arm lengthens the pistons' reach, which ups the compression ratio. — Matthew Jancer, Popular Mechanics, "How Infiniti's Variable-Compression Engine Works," 16 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piston.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for piston
piston
noun
English Language Learners Definition of piston
: a part of an engine that moves up and down inside a tube and that causes other parts of the engine to move
See the full definition for piston in the English Language Learners Dictionary
piston
noun
pis·​ton
| \ ˈpi-stən
\
\
Kids Definition of piston
: a disk or short cylinder that slides back and forth inside a larger cylinder and is moved by steam in steam engines and by the explosion of fuel in automobiles