penstock

American  

[pen-stok] / ˈpɛnˌstɒk /

noun

1. a pipe conducting water from a head gate to a waterwheel.

2. a conduit for conveying water to a power plant.

3. a sluicelike contrivance used to control the flow of water.

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penstock British  

/ ˈpɛnˌstɒk /

noun

1. a conduit that supplies water to a hydroelectric power plant

2. a channel bringing water from the head gates to a water wheel

3. a sluice for controlling water flow

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penstock Scientific  

/ pĕn′stŏk′ /

1. A sluice or gate used to control a flow of water.

2. A pipe or conduit used to carry water to a water wheel or turbine.

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Etymology

Origin of penstock

First recorded in 1600–10; pen ² + stock

Example Sentences

But the skeptics were yelling up the wrong penstock.

From Time Magazine Archive

That evening it did not hurt her a particle, and concluding that what was good for one foot must be good for two, she put both under the "penstock" till they were almost congealed.

From The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) Including Public Addresses, Her Own Letters and Many From Her Contemporaries During Fifty Years by Harper, Ida Husted

Water is supplied to this wheel by a wooden penstock 33 inches square, inside measurements, and sloping at an angle of 30° from the flume to the wheel.

From Electricity for the farm Light, heat and power by inexpensive methods from the water wheel or farm engine by Anderson, Frederick Irving

I gasped; and then I was silent, and hearing a loud ejaculation, as I felt the wood of the penstock tremble.

From Burr Junior by Earnshaw, H. C. (Harold C.)

Each turbine in a penstock represents the power of 5,000 horses, and there are now ten or more employed.

From Inventions in the Century by Doolittle, William Henry