shock absorber

American  

noun

Machinery.

shock absorbers plural

1. a device for damping sudden and rapid motion, as the recoil of a spring-mounted object from shock.

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shock absorber British  

noun

1. any device designed to absorb mechanical shock, esp one fitted to a motor vehicle to damp the recoil of the suspension springs

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shock absorbers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shock absorber

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shock absorber

Then you can apply a dynamic withdrawal strategy, with the guardrails and shock absorber discussed above, to the spending that remains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Every investor alive has been trained by four decades of falling rates to believe recession means rate cuts, which means that bonds rally, which means a typical 60/40 stock-bond portfolio has a shock absorber.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

Cash flow was significantly stronger than expected, due to lower investments, but this only acts as a partial shock absorber to the negative results, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

First, China has turned itself into the world’s oil shock absorber.

From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025

Hermes was now pulling Beck and Watney along, with Vogel's use of the tether acting as a shock absorber.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• suspension system