as in pipe
a long hollow cylinder for carrying a substance (as a liquid or gas)
a penstock carried water for the waterwheel
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Recent Examples of penstock
Brenda Burman, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, presented a diagram showing the dam’s eight large tubes, called penstocks, that water normally passes through, as well as the smaller outlet pipes that enable water releases at low reservoir levels.
—
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
River water entered the powerhouse and fell down a system of 140-foot vertical pipes, called penstocks, one for each generator.
—Charles R. Morris, WSJ, 21 June 2018
The penstock flows powered the turbines that turned shafts activating the top-side generators.
—Charles R. Morris, WSJ, 21 June 2018
The reservoir can also be lowered by discharges through the dam’s power plant, but one of the two power plant outlets, known as penstocks, was shut down for routine maintenance of turbines.
—Ralph Vartabedian, latimes.com, 10 May 2017
Equipment: An intake gate called a penstock, valves and pressure gauges, turbine, switchgear, inverter, and electronics.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 6 Feb. 2017
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
River water entered the powerhouse and fell down a system of 140-foot vertical pipes, called penstocks, one for each generator.
—Charles R. Morris, WSJ, 21 June 2018
The penstock flows powered the turbines that turned shafts activating the top-side generators.
—Charles R. Morris, WSJ, 21 June 2018
The reservoir can also be lowered by discharges through the dam’s power plant, but one of the two power plant outlets, known as penstocks, was shut down for routine maintenance of turbines.
—Ralph Vartabedian, latimes.com, 10 May 2017
Equipment: An intake gate called a penstock, valves and pressure gauges, turbine, switchgear, inverter, and electronics.
—Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 6 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penstock
Noun
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This suburban Milwaukee community is increasing its water rate by 22% South Milwaukee’s water rates are increasing by about 22% to recover costs of multiple construction projects, including lead pipe replacements.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
8 July 2025
-
Back in 2001, some anthropologists got permission from a museum to borrow twenty-four clay pipe fragments that had been dug up in the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare used to live.—
Sam Kelly
July 8,
Literary Hub,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
One hole was for the electric box for the 120-volt outlet, and the other hole was for a one-gang electric box the conduit that would house the fiber optic cable.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
-
Take Letters to Wendy’s, which tells its story via a year’s worth of customer comment cards, all submitted by an unnamed narrator who treats the fast-food space as a conduit for existential riffing.—
Dan Leach
July 3,
Literary Hub,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Housed in its signature slim silver tube, this sheer yet buildable lip color delivers a rich plum tint that magically flatters nearly everyone.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
8 July 2025
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Its attached solar panel charges all day, then automatically lights up the glass tube after hours for easier nighttime reading of the gauge.—
Molly Blanco,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 July 2025
Noun
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Placed from a channel with the handle @novileanlifedaily5807 and the title Opportunistic Trader, the ad had been viewed more than 840,000 times.—
Emily Baker-White,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
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This aligns with Operation Reconquista, a movement launched over two years ago by Richard Ackerman (Redeemed Zoomer), whose YouTube channel has over 500,000 subscribers and rallies young conservatives to reclaim mainline churches.—
The Rev. Jake Dell,
Hartford Courant,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penstock. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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