DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

blowdown

[ bloh-doun ]
/ ˈbloʊˌdaʊn /

noun

Automotive. a procedure for measuring the compression within an engine to identify certain mechanical defects, such as worn piston rings.
a tree or stand of timber that has been blown down by the wind.

Words nearby blowdown

blow-in, blow-molded, blow-out fracture, blowback, blowball, blowdown, blowed, blower, blowfish, blowfly, blowgun

Origin of blowdown

1880–85 for earlier sense; noun use of verb phrase blow down
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for blowdown

  • A blazing mass of tops, twisted in a blowdown, fronted them, and they were forced to make a long detour.

    King Spruce, A Novel|Holman Day

  • “The fool Indian ought to make allowance for a blowdown,” he reflected, angrily.

    King Spruce, A Novel|Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for blowdown

blowdown
/ (ˈbləʊˌdaʊn) /

noun

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