entrainment

[ en-treyn-muhnt ]

noun

1. the act or fact of trapping bubbles in a liquid:

   A notorious problem in some ink-jet printing systems is the entrainment of tiny air bubbles in the ink during operation.

2. the act or fact of being drawn into a current or flow:

   Fish screens have proven reliable at preventing fish entrainment into watercourses diverted for agricultural use.

3. the synchronization of different rhythmic cycles that interact with each other:

   In individuals with sleep-wake disorder, continued treatment with medication was required to maintain entrainment of the circadian rhythms of melatonin and cortisol in the body.

4. Chemistry. the carrying along of a substance in a moving fluid, as drops of liquid in a vapor during evaporation or distillation:

   The research studies the physical processes determining droplet entrainment in turbulent gas flow over a liquid layer in pipes and channels.

5. Meteorology. the transfer of air from the surrounding atmosphere into an organized air current:

   During a hurricane the temperatures in the upper atmosphere depend partly on the entrainment of drier or cooler air from outside the vortex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of entrainment¹

First recorded in 1830–40, for an earlier sense; from French entraînement, equivalent to entrain ²( def ) + -ment ( def )

Example Sentences

If you think of the brain as a blob with electrical pulses running through it, neural entrainment means that the pulses don’t seem random.

From Nautilus

Sustained rhythmic, physical stimulation leads to neural entrainment—an alignment of neural signals that produces an explosion in brain activity.

From Nautilus

The question Stickford’s new study explores is whether entrainment is related to what’s going on in your mind.

From Outside Online

That’s a relatively high degree of entrainment, as expected for experienced runners.

From Outside Online

Their entrainment scores at both speeds averaged around 60 percent, which is the fraction of breaths that started at roughly the same point in the stride cycle.

From Outside Online

The train then ran into the station, and the entrainment of the wounded commenced.

From Project Gutenberg

The entrainment was to be considered as a practice entrainment.

From Project Gutenberg

These phrases, "entrainment," "order of march," had a businesslike sound.

From Project Gutenberg

"All ready for entrainment, sir," said the sergeant heartily.

From Project Gutenberg

There is one little nurse from the entrainment wards—it is a good story, which I will tell in good time—competent to care for him.

From Project Gutenberg