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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.


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

"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

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.


Etymology

Origin of penstock

First recorded in 1600–10; pen 2 + stock


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.

See Examples For:

But the skeptics were yelling up the wrong penstock.

From Time Magazine Archive

Each channel has a square penstock, so that the sewage can be diverted into either chamber when necessary.

From ASCE 1193: The Water-Works and Sewerage of Monterrey, N. L., Mexico The 4th article from the June, 1911, Volume LXXII, Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Paper No. 1193, Feb. 1, 1911. by George Robert Graham Conway

It is from this flume that the penstock draws water for the wheel.

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

I followed on to the penstock, and stood by as cast after cast was made, always cleverly over the rod, but the hook glided back on being drawn without taking hold.

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

At the bottom of the penstock is placed a turbine wheel fixed on a shaft, and to which shaft is connected an electric generator or other power machine.

From Inventions in the Century by William Henry Doolittle

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