backpressure

or back pres·sure

[ bak-presh-er ]

noun
  1. a resistant pressure exerted by liquid or gas against the forward motion or flow of an exhaust or pipe system: Careful control of backpressure ensures an even supply of oil from the well.

Origin of backpressure

1
First recorded in 1860–65; back1 + pressure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use backpressure in a sentence

  • So in using steam expansively the back pressure must be at a minimum, and this is especially true in the compound engine.

    Farm Engines and How to Run Them | James H. Stephenson
  • In using steam expansively the relative proportion between the back pressure and the force of the steam is of course greater.

    Farm Engines and How to Run Them | James H. Stephenson
  • This cannot be carried very far, however, for the back pressure of cushion will reduce the energy of the engine movement.

    Farm Engines and How to Run Them | James H. Stephenson
  • The back pressure saved will at once show in the pulling power of the engine, and every one will be surprised.

    Farm Engines and How to Run Them | James H. Stephenson
  • Another thing, the smallness of the exhaust nozzle in the smokestack affects the back pressure.

    Farm Engines and How to Run Them | James H. Stephenson

British Dictionary definitions for back pressure

back pressure

noun
  1. engineering

    • the pressure that opposes the motion of a piston on its exhaust stroke in an internal-combustion engine

    • the exhaust pressure in external combustion engines

  2. med the local pressure that builds up when fluid flow is obstructed in the cardiovascular or urinary systems

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012