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preventer

American  
[pri-ven-ter] / prɪˈvɛn tər /

noun

  • preventers
    plural
  1. a person or thing that prevents.

  2. Nautical.

    1. any of various lines set up to reinforce or relieve ordinary running or standing rigging.

    2. a line for preventing a sail from jibbing.


preventer British  
/ prɪˈvɛntə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that prevents

  2. nautical a rope or other piece of gear rigged to prevent a sail from gybing

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of preventer

First recorded in 1580–90; prevent + -er 1

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:

A diligent plumber will also calculate the pressure loss from the height of the bathroom above the water meter, the pressure loss through the water meter, a backflow preventer and any other pressure regulators.

From Seattle Times Mar. 11, 2024

Halliburton, the Big Oil services firm, was also blamed for faulty cementing of the well, and Cameron, the maker of the blowout preventer, was scrutinized over the the device’s failure.

From Washington Post Apr. 19, 2020

The blowout preventer was supposed to be the last-ditch defense against high-pressure gas and oil bursting out of the well.

From Slate Sep. 30, 2016

A blowout preventer, which hadn’t been serviced for nine years, failed to close.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 27, 2016

“West-and-by-north, and nothin’ higher, sir,” answered the man, easing his weather helm a couple of spokes as I turned away to see to the preventer back-stays being rigged.

From The Log of a Privateersman by Rainey, W. (William)

Another would require blowout preventers — the equipment that failed in 2010 — to always be able to handle the well’s maximum gas flow specifications.

From Seattle Times Sep. 12, 2022

The 2016 rule required companies to test the blowout preventers every 14 days.

From Washington Times Apr. 18, 2020

But Sunday’s press conference shows that, through flattery and fear, he can be prevented from preventing the actual preventers from doing prevention.

From Slate Mar. 31, 2020

We hear of kill lines, blowout preventers, negative pressure tests, and something called the bladder effect, which I would rather not know about.

From The New Yorker Sep. 30, 2016

He had made the men lash the topmast and topgallant-mast to the fragment left of the original spar, securing it with back-stays and preventers on the port and starboard sides before getting up the shrouds.

From The White Squall A Story of the Sargasso Sea by Schonberg, J.

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