as in pipe
a long hollow cylinder for carrying a substance (as a liquid or gas)
a penstock carried water for the waterwheel
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of penstock
That plate sealed the opening of the penstock (water delivery tube) and holds back water from the reservoir.
—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
22 Feb. 2026
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the water agency, the failure involved a 15-foot-diameter section of penstock pipe between a butterfly valve and a concrete thrust block before the pipe extended down a steep hillside to the powerhouse.
—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Water floods down each penstock at 100 cubic metres per second.
—
Chris Baraniuk,
Wired News,
18 Dec. 2025
Species stocked in Lake Powell for sporting purposes swam the reservoir for decades without creating a clear threat to the river below until the warm surface water sank nearer the hydropower intakes, called penstocks.
—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
15 Dec. 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
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
22 Feb. 2026
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the water agency, the failure involved a 15-foot-diameter section of penstock pipe between a butterfly valve and a concrete thrust block before the pipe extended down a steep hillside to the powerhouse.
—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Water floods down each penstock at 100 cubic metres per second.
—
Chris Baraniuk,
Wired News,
18 Dec. 2025
Species stocked in Lake Powell for sporting purposes swam the reservoir for decades without creating a clear threat to the river below until the warm surface water sank nearer the hydropower intakes, called penstocks.
—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
15 Dec. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penstock
Noun
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The freshwater mollusk, first spotted in North America in the Delta in 2024, threatens water systems by clogging pipes and altering the food web.
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Spoon or pipe yolk mixture evenly into reserved egg white halves.
Noun
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Since 2018, that agency has been a primary conduit for election security briefings and cyber assistance.
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Free expression of thought is the conduit by which all American citizens are able to discuss the quality of candidates running for offices at all levels of government, as well as societal events shaping our future.
Noun
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Drivers wear vests which pump cooling liquid through a network of tubes, linked to pumping equipment inside the car.
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The characters have little time to make life-or-death decisions, let alone ruminate, and the action vacillates between triage and doctors expertly improvising solutions — like Mel (Taylor Dearden) donating her own blood, and Javadi (Shabana Azeez) going MacGyver mode with a tracheal tube.
Noun
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For months, election officials have worked across party and state lines with nonprofits and technology companies to build alternative channels for sharing intelligence and cybersecurity support.
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Following a meeting with the company at the 2026 BofA Global Tech Conference, along with recent channel checks, Arya raised his sales outlook for Credo by 2%-11% for fiscal 2027-2028 and his earnings per share (EPS) outlook by 5%-15%.
Cite this Entry
“Penstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penstock. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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