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

Guardrails and a shock absorber can be added to the actuarial method to limit spending swings, especially for discretionary funds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

So the shock absorber works best for retirees with some cushion above their essential spending.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 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

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