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
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
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
Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penstock
Noun
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Crews would build dams in a 13,000-acre area, and fill with the site with water brought in through pipes from the Sacramento River during periods of high flow.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
-
My father preferred driving pipe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Angelic children are conduits between life and death.—
Natalia Jiménez-Stuard,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
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That may not be considered overly important, but the media remain the best conduit between the England team and its supporters, even in the social media age.—
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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It’s housed inside its own twist-bottom tube and contains an internal brush to give you an effortless, mess-free method of application.—
Michelle Baricevic,
InStyle,
22 Jan. 2026
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Bigger facilities pass cold liquid through tubes near the chips to absorb the heat.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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When the shooting happened, the videos quickly moved from individual smartphones to Reddit threads, YouTube channels and social media feeds.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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Customer acquisition costs have climbed across digital channels, while privacy changes have reduced the signals advertisers once depended on.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penstock. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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