preventer

American  

[pri-ven-ter] / prɪˈvɛn tər /

noun

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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of preventer

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

Example Sentences

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

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

No asthma patient should be prescribed a long-acting reliever inhaler without being given a preventer inhaler too, for example.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2015

While this work was going on, the other ships of the squadron set up new standing-rigging, together with a sufficient number of preventer shrowds to each mast, to secure them in the most effectual manner.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 11 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert