stuffing box

American

noun

Machinery.

a device for preventing leakage of gases or liquids along a moving rod or shaft at the point at which it leaves a cylinder, tank, ship hull, etc.

stuffing box British

noun

Also called: packing box. a small chamber in which an annular packing is compressed around a reciprocating or rotating rod or shaft to form a seal

"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

Etymology

Origin of stuffing box

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

stuffing box

He also saw a heavy influx of water from the starboard stuffing box.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Sure, I check the packing, replace it regularly and watch the stuffing box when I run up," he says.

From Time Magazine Archive

A stuffing box commonly employs a packing nut to compress the packing material around the shaft.

From Time Magazine Archive

When properly adjusted, a stuffing box keeps excess water from collecting in the bilge and protects the shaft from damage.

From Time Magazine Archive

A stuffing box filled with this mixture has worked three years without grinding the piston-rod.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885 by Various

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023