cylinder

noun

cyl·in·der | \ ˈsi-lən-dər

Definition of cylinder

1a : the surface traced by a straight line moving parallel to a fixed straight line and intersecting a fixed planar closed curve

b : a solid or surface bounded by a cylinder and two parallel planes cutting all its elements especially : right circular cylinder — see Volume Formulas Table

2 : a cylindrical body or space: such as

a : the turning chambered breech of a revolver

b(1) : the piston chamber in an engine

(2) : a chamber in a pump from which the piston expels the fluid

c : any of various rotating members in a press (such as a printing press) especially : one that impresses paper on an inked form

d : a cylindrical clay object inscribed with cuneiform inscriptions

on all cylinders

: with maximum effort or intensity : at full capacity or speed the economy is running on all cylinders

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Examples of cylinder in a Sentence

the cylinder of a revolver

Recent Examples on the Web

Nor drinking, either: the 6.2-liter pushrod V8 is fitted with dual fuel systems to pump more gas into the cylinders in extremis. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "2019 Corvette ZR1: The Last, and Best, of Its Kind," 28 Nov. 2018 The Escape’s top two four-cylinder engines are turbocharged, refined, and pair well with their standard six-speed automatic transmissions. — Car and Driver, "2018 Ford Escape," 23 Mar. 2018 Volvo says this eager-beaver approach to forced induction means its small inline-four can go up against the bigger six- and even eight-cylinder engines most everyone else uses. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "Volvo’s new V60 is proof the station wagon must never die," 17 Oct. 2018 Three and four-cylinder engines are being offered with a choice of five-speed manual and four-speed manual transmissions, while a high tech automatic emergency braking system is available. — Gary Gastelu, Fox News, "Suzuki Samurai successor revealed, but don't get too excited," 18 June 2018 Only the two four-cylinder engines are offered; the V-6 option has been dropped. — G. Chambers Williams Iii, Houston Chronicle, "Honda Accord debuts for 2018 with its first-ever turbocharged engines," 15 June 2018 Only the two four-cylinder engines are offered; the V-6 option has been dropped. — G. Chambers Williams Iii, star-telegram, "All-new Honda Accord debuts for 2018 with its first-ever turbocharged engines | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 12 May 2018 Several of the competitors use smaller turbocharged four-cylinder engines. — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, "Review: 2018 Jaguar Sportbrake makes station wagons cool again," 19 Apr. 2018 From the high-end interior to the powerful six-cylinder engine to the standard driver assistance tech, we were impressed across the board. — The Good Housekeeping Institute, Good Housekeeping, "The Best New Cars of 2019," 15 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cylinder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.