poppet
Americannoun
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Also called poppet valve. Machinery. a rising and falling valve consisting of a disk at the end of a vertically set stem, used in internal-combustion and steam engines.
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British Dialect. a girl or child (used as a term of endearment).
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Nautical. any of the vertical timbers bracing the bow or stern of a vessel about to be launched.
noun
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a term of affection for a small child or sweetheart
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Also called: poppet valve. a mushroom-shaped valve that is lifted from its seating against a spring by applying an axial force to its stem: commonly used as an exhaust or inlet valve in an internal-combustion engine
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nautical a temporary supporting brace for a vessel hauled on land or in a dry dock
Etymology
Origin of poppet
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; earlier form of puppet
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.
Let’s wrap those up for you, shall we, poppet?
From Salon • Feb. 24, 2014
The letters, translated by an academic with the help of her three-year-old son, show Swift addressing Stella as his "poo poo ppt" – his poor poor poppet.
From The Guardian • Jan. 28, 2011
The camera went berserk as the curly-headed poppet blinked in surprise as she clutched her teddy bear.
From The Guardian • Nov. 23, 2010
This Knox annoyed Mr. Knight with the noise its poppet valves made.
From Time Magazine Archive
I thought about the marsh—not the poppet grabbing me, but what had happened when I tried to get away.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
