cylinder

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 Roll dough into 2-in. cylinder and wrap in plastic wrap. — The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Nutty Shortbread Cookies Recipe," 15 Nov. 2019 The retail operation provides industrial customers direct access to purchase, rent and service tools like cylinders and jacks, pumps and bolting and machine tools. — From News Reports, Houston Chronicle, "Drone maker plans office in Deer Park," 22 Oct. 2019 Prepping Most phyllo sold at the supermarket is frozen in 18-by-13 sheets that are rolled up into a cylinder and packaged in a thin, long box. — Becky Krystal, The Denver Post, "Take a more layered approach by adding phyllo dough to your kitchen staples," 27 Sep. 2019 Scosche’s new PowerUp 700 can jump-start car, truck, and boat engines up to 10 cylinders, and also charge your smartphone, tablet, or other devices through its two USB ports. — BostonGlobe.com, "Make noise for political change," 25 Sep. 2019 Silver cylinders and pouches of teas are placed throughout on a variety of shelves and earthy furniture pieces. — Joel Cintron, courant.com, "This 30-year-old is creating handcrafted, all-natural tea blends out of her Hartford shop, Ritual Earth Tea," 20 Sep. 2019 Since the days of wax cylinders and piano rolls, music was monetized by selling something [physical], and that’s no longer true. — Billboard Staff, Billboard, "Revealed: Billboard's 2019 Top Music Lawyers Led by BTS Counsel Debbie White of Loeb & Loeb," 26 Aug. 2019 The lineup, meanwhile, is firing on all cylinders and contributing timely hits to start late rallies. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "Who's Going to Win the Chaotic NL Wild-Card Race?," 12 Aug. 2019 Westcott designed a cylinder and piston with an explosive charge at one end of the piston and a machined blade at the other. — oregonlive.com, "He was there when it really was a moon shot, and he had to get them home safely: Steve Duin," 15 July 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.

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Last Updated

17 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Cylinder.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cylinder. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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