Morse taper

British

noun

engineering a taper that is one of a standard series used in the shank of tools to fit a matching taper in the mandrel of a machine tool

"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 Morse taper

probably named after the Morse Twist Drill Co, Massachusetts, US

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.

The taper shanks of twist drills are given a standard degree of taper of 5⁄8 inch per foot of length, which is termed the Morse taper.

From Project Gutenberg

A set of chuck drills, ranging from 3⁄8 to 3⁄4 inch, advancing by 1⁄32 inch, and a set of Morse taper shank drills ranging from 3⁄4 to 11⁄4 inches, by increments of 1⁄16 inch, will be all that is needed for the most pretentious repair shop, as it is cheaper to bore holes larger than 11⁄4 inches with a boring tool than it is to carry a number of large drills in stock that would be used very seldom, perhaps not enough to justify their cost.

From Project Gutenberg

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