spigot

American  

[spig-uht] / ˈspɪg ət /

noun

1. a small peg or plug for stopping the vent of a cask.

2. a peg or plug for stopping the passage of liquid in a faucet or cock.

3. a faucet or cock for controlling the flow of liquid from a pipe or the like.

4. the end of a pipe that enters the enlarged end of another pipe to form a joint.

---

spigot British  

/ ˈspɪɡət /

noun

1. a stopper for the vent hole of a cask

2. a tap, usually of wood, fitted to a cask

3. a US name for tap 2

4. a short cylindrical projection on one component designed to fit into a hole on another, esp the male part of a joint ( spigot and socket joint ) between two pipes

---

Regionalisms

See faucet.

Etymology

Origin of spigot

1350–1400; Middle English spigot, perhaps < Old French *espigot < Old Provençal espig ( a ) (< Latin spīca ear of grain; spica ) + Old French -ot diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

I knew the salary spigot would slam shut.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now that money spigot is drying up, especially in smaller markets, as more consumers drop the cable bundles that long fueled the sports economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

I turn the spigot and Ray sprays the garage door and the corner of the garage roof hard for several minutes.

From Literature

With student loan debt at a record $1.7 trillion, the U.S. is tightening the spigot on federal loans.

From The Wall Street Journal

For those that don’t, it’s time to turn off the spigot.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• nozzle
• valve