crankshaft

American  

[krangk-shaft, -shahft] / ˈkræŋkˌʃæft, -ˌʃɑft /

noun

Machinery.

1. a shaft having one or more cranks, usually formed as integral parts.

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crankshaft British  

/ ˈkræŋkˌʃɑːft /

noun

1. a shaft having one or more cranks, esp the main shaft of an internal-combustion engine to which the connecting rods are attached

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Etymology

Origin of crankshaft

First recorded in 1850–55; crank ¹ + shaft

Example Sentences

Then, in January 2016, came the first "thermal incident" - a police car fire caused by the same crankshaft bearing issue that later affected PC Dumphreys' car.

From BBC • Jul. 28, 2023

But the shortest route is to minimize the duration of the start/stop event itself, so that the engine fires within the first rotation of the engine crankshaft.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 3, 2018

Fifteen degrees before TDC means the spark plugs would fire when the crankshaft is still 15 degrees of rotation away from when each piston reaches the top.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 3, 2017

Then he shifted to a form of Cubism, turning objects like Jell-O molds, a telephone and an automobile engine crankshaft into compressive, nearly abstract designs in black, white and velvety shades of gray.

From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2016

I didn’t even know what a crankshaft was.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman