cylinder head

American  

noun

cylinder heads plural

1. (in a reciprocating engine or pump) a detachable plate or cover on the end opposite to that from which the piston rod or connecting rod projects.

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cylinder head British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: head.  the detachable metal casting that fits onto the top of a cylinder block. In an engine it contains part of the combustion chamber and in an overhead-valve four-stroke engine it houses the valves and their operating mechanisms

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cylinder heads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cylinder head

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cylinder head

But the U.S. said Friday that Ford’s fix lets fuel drain from a cylinder head hole to the ground below the vehicles.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 12, 2024

Dealers will also install a tube draining fuel from the cylinder head and away from hot surfaces and check for excessive fuel odor near the top of the engine.

From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2022

If you wanted your engine’s cylinder head ported or a metal flake lacquer finish laid down on your roadster, this was the place to go.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 25, 2017

A few other companies use these “opposed-piston engines” as well, and the absence of the cylinder head and the elimination of many other parts makes them lighter and cheaper than conventional engines.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2012

Their own statements show that they were well aware of the effect of the very hot cylinder head on power output and they must also have realized its influence on exhaust-valve temperature.

From The Wright Brothers' Engines and Their Design by Hobbs, Leonard S.