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blowdown

American  
[bloh-doun] / ˈbloʊˌdaʊn /

noun

  1. Automotive. a procedure for measuring the compression within an engine to identify certain mechanical defects, such as worn piston rings.

  2. a tree or stand of timber that has been blown down by the wind.


blowdown British  
/ ˈbləʊˌdaʊn /

noun

  1. an accident in a nuclear reactor in which a cooling pipe bursts causing the loss of essential coolant

"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

Etymology

Origin of blowdown

1880–85 for earlier sense; noun use of verb phrase blow down

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The analysis also does not factor in so-called "blowdown" emissions of methane which occur every time the ship switches from LNG to running on MGO.

From BBC Dec. 30, 2024

Upon clearing the blowdown, we found a copse of huckleberry bushes and several runners converged for fistfuls of the juicy, purple berries.

From Seattle Times Aug. 25, 2020

Tree blowdown on the South Fork Toutle River showing small stand of trees protected from the force of the blast but not from the heat.

From Scientific American May 23, 2013

In 2005, a massive explosion rocked BP's Texas City refinery, after a blowdown drum overfilled with liquid hydrocarbons.

From Time Jun. 10, 2010

The blast toppled trees in a 230.square-mile area north of the volcano called the blowdown zone and left vegetation standing but seared lifeless—the scorch zone—on the edges.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

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