live steam

American

[lahyv] / laɪv /

noun

steam direct from the boiler and at full pressure, ready for use in work.
steam that has performed no work or only part of its work.

live steam British

/ laɪv /

noun

steam supplied directly from a boiler at full pressure, before it has performed any work

"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 live steam

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

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.

Huge projectors show a live steam from mission control.

From Washington Post

The men used jets of live steam to thaw dirt and prevent newly poured cement from freezing.

From Literature

There is one objection to starting the curve slowly at g, which is that the port s will be opened correspondingly slowly for the live steam.

From Project Gutenberg

Dove gray particles clung to the sewer opening beneath—particles of some sort of paint that was soluble in water or perhaps live steam.

From Project Gutenberg

Straightway a violent subaqueous crackling announced that live steam from the boilers was performing its allotted task of taking the chill off.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023