shot tower

American  

noun

1. a tower from the top of which finely divided streams of molten lead are dropped down a central well, breaking up into spherical drops during their fall to be quenched and hardened in a tank of water at the bottom.

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shot tower British  

noun

1. a building formerly used in the production of shot, in which molten lead was graded and dropped from a great height into water, thus cooling it and forming the shot

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Etymology

Origin of shot tower

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shot tower

It looks, at this distance of about thirty miles, like what it is called--the long chimney of a steam factory establishment, or a shot tower in Baltimore.

From The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California To which is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, with Recent Notices of the Gold Region from the Latest and Most Authentic Sources by Frémont, John Charles

The old shot tower gave name to the summer encampment known as Tower Hill, where, in connection with the little farm adjoining, I have found vacation rest and renewal for the last twenty years.

From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jones, Jenkins Lloyd

The O’Rapley informed him that it was a shot tower where they made shot.

From The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit by Harris, Richard

The shot tower at First and Howard streets was gone.

From Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror by Linthicum, Richard

The naked cliff, rising sheer above the rapid current, was, early in this century, utilized as a shot tower.

From Historic Waterways?Six Hundred Miles of Canoeing Down the Rock, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers by Thwaites, Reuben Gold