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

The pullback in oil purchasing has acted as a shock absorber for the global economy, keeping a lid on prices, and was a big surprise to commodities traders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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

“We don’t have quite the shock absorber that we used to have,” Croft said in an interview.

From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026

“In a perfect world,” Velis said, the SRF would be the shock absorber, where you are lending against good collateral to banks at the auction rate.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2025

A good place to hide could be under the cars, up between the axles, balancing on a foot-wide iron shock absorber.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• suspension system