blow-by

or blow·by

[ bloh-bahy ]

noun,plural blow-bies.Automotive.
  1. leakage of the air-fuel mixture or of combustion gases between a piston and the cylinder wall into the crankcase of an automobile.

  2. a device, fitted to a crankcase, for conducting such gases back to the cylinders for combustion.

Origin of blow-by

1
First recorded in 1930–35; noun use of verb phrase blow by

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

How to use blow-by in a sentence

  • In fact, I got a blow-by-blow description of your entire escape from them.

    Captives of the Flame | Samuel R. Delany

British Dictionary definitions for blow-by

blow-by

noun
  1. the leakage of gas past the piston of an engine at maximum pressure

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