backpressure

or back pres·sure

[ bak-presh-er ]

noun

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

First recorded in 1860–65; back¹ + pressure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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

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
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

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