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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of penstock
Provide point protection for Balch Camp PG&E hydro-electric and residential facilities, two powerhouses, Balch communication reflector, penstock and valve houses, and associated power distribution lines.
—
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 10 Sep. 2025
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
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
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 10 Sep. 2025
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
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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For now, imagine a skater launching off a quarter pipe two thousand feet high, then somersaulting.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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That fingerprint was sufficient enough to qualify for a warrant to search the rest of the Norman home, where tests of the pipes leading out of the washing machine revealed some matter containing Beryl’s DNA.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But the nonprofit did so discreetly, using the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization, as a conduit for the funds.—
Tetiana Kotelnykova,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
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Middle managers—those crucial conduits between strategy and execution—feel less psychologically safe than both their bosses and their teams.—
Harvard Business Review,
Harvard Business Review,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But just six weeks after giving birth, Moreno decided to have her tubes tied.—
NPR,
NPR,
31 Oct. 2025
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Most of the production line is automated to limit human contact, with the vials being washed and sterilized and then filled with fentanyl using long rubber tubes.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The bit saw Ripa channel Chappell Roan, while Consuelos sported a chest-bearing bodysuit in the vein of Benson Boone.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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Disney has suspended its content on YouTube TV — pulling channels like ESPN and ABC from the platform — after the companies failed to reach a new contractual agreement.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penstock. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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