piston ring

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noun

a metallic ring, usually one of a series, and split so as to be expansible, placed around a piston in order to maintain a tight fit, as inside the cylinder of an engine.

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Also called packing ring, ring.

Origin of piston ring

First recorded in1865–70

Words nearby piston ring

pistology, pistol-whip, piston, piston engine, piston pin, piston ring, piston rod, piston slap, pistou, pit, pita

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use piston ring in a sentence

A lot of people ring in the New Year with vows to lose weight and exercise.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.
Diving Into 2015 With Polar Bear Plunge Extremists|James Joiner|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some things never change as we wring out the old year and ring in the new one.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What was this human being fighting for everywhere but inside a ring?
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They opened for acts like Elliott Smith, Sloan, and Promise Ring.
OK Go Is Helping Redefine the Music Video For the Internet Age|Lauren Schwartzberg|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Yima pressed the earth with this ring, the genius of the Earth, Aramaîti, responded to his wish and order.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
I desired the captain would please to accept this ring in return of his civilities, which he absolutely refused.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Whoever succeeded in getting the ring on his stick won the game, and carried the prize home as a sign of victory.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
I remember feeling in his pocket for the ring, and as I did so, I felt a hand grasp mine for a moment.
Uncanny Tales|Various

British Dictionary definitions for piston ring

piston ring

noun

a split ring, usually made of cast iron, that fits into a groove on the rim of a piston to provide a spring-loaded seal against the cylinder wall

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