siphon
or sy·phon
a tube or conduit bent into legs of unequal length, for use in drawing a liquid from one container into another on a lower level by placing the shorter leg into the container above and the longer leg into the one below, the liquid being forced up the shorter leg and into the longer one by the pressure of the atmosphere.
a projecting tubular part of some animals, especially certain mollusks, through which liquid enters or leaves the body.
to convey, draw, or pass through or as if through a siphon (sometimes followed by off): to siphon water; to siphon off profits into a secret bank account.
Origin of siphon
1Other words from siphon
- si·phon·al, si·phon·ic [sahy-fon-ik], /saɪˈfɒn ɪk/, adjective
- si·phon·less, adjective
- si·phon·like, adjective
- pseu·do·si·phon·al, adjective
- pseu·do·si·phon·ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use siphon in a sentence
The Cuban government siphons off revenue from nearly every business transaction in the country.
And motherhood is indeed one of the biggest siphons that draws women away from tech.
Don’t Be Fooled by Apple and Facebook, Egg Freezing Is Not a Benefit | Samantha Allen | October 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe mantle lobes are united, as are also the siphons to a greater or lesser extent; and there is only one gill on each side.
The Sea Shore | William S. FurneauxThe mantle is open at the anterior end, and the siphons are either quite distinct or only partly united.
The Sea Shore | William S. FurneauxA whisky bottle and a couple of siphons stood on a tray on the Squire's writing-table, an open pistol-case near at hand.
Mount Royal, Volume 3 of 3 | Mary Elizabeth Braddon
It is by the number of these parts, called siphons, which vary in number from four to twenty, that the species is determined.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide | Augusta Foote ArnoldThe siphons may be obtained either separately or already connected with the absorbing jars.
British Dictionary definitions for siphon
syphon
/ (ˈsaɪfən) /
a tube placed with one end at a certain level in a vessel of liquid and the other end outside the vessel below this level, so that liquid pressure forces the liquid through the tube and out of the vessel by gravity
See soda siphon
zoology any of various tubular organs in different aquatic animals, such as molluscs and elasmobranch fishes, through which a fluid, esp water, passes
(often foll by off) to pass or draw off through or as if through a siphon
Origin of siphon
1Derived forms of siphon
- siphonage, noun
- siphonal or siphonic (saɪˈfɒnɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for siphon
[ sī′fən ]
A pipe or tube in the form of an upside-down U, filled with liquid and arranged so that the pressure of the atmosphere forces liquid to flow upward from a container through the tube, over a barrier, and into a lower container.
A tubular animal part, as of a clam, through which water is taken in or expelled.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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