single-acting
[sing-guh l-ak-ting]
- (of a reciprocating engine, pump, etc.) having pistons accomplishing work only in one direction.Compare double-acting(def 1).
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Origin of single-acting
First recorded in 1815–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for single-acting
Historical Examples
This differs from the one just described chiefly in that it is single-acting, while the other is double-acting.
By single-acting is meant that the air cylinders compress their respective volumes of air once every revolution.
The double-acting engine, unlike the single-acting pumping engine, required a piston rod that would push as well as pull.
Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of WattEugene S. Ferguson
The piston will, therefore, be pressed downwards by the action of the steam above it, as in the single-acting engine.
The Steam Engine Explained and Illustrated (Seventh Edition)Dionysius Lardner
A chain from the piston-rod to the arch head, as described in the single-acting engine, would fail to transmit this force.
The Steam Engine Explained and Illustrated (Seventh Edition)Dionysius Lardner
single-acting
- (of a reciprocating engine or pump) having a piston or pistons that are pressurized on one side onlyCompare double-acting (def. 1)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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