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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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
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
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
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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Maintaining these pipes requires dismantling the equipment, which is time-consuming and costly.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Before calling 911, Buck wiped up Dean’s vomit and blood and threw syringes and pipes out of a window, according to federal prosecutors.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Monfre emphasized the organization is just conduit between Loons fans and Calisota Boys Customs and the Immigrant Defense Network.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
27 Feb. 2026
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While Levin and his organization may have unwittingly become part of the story, his advice to continue using TMZ as a conduit for communication with authorities further centered the media’s role — not just in reporting the case, but directly influencing law enforcement’s investigation.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The system acts as the digital interface linking the submarine’s navigation systems, mission computers, and the launch tubes that house the ballistic missiles.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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My go-to is this Sun Bum multi-pack, which comes in handy in case one tube gets misplaced or falls out on a ride.—
Terri Peters,
Parents,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Digging the channel up to 10 feet deeper and 300 feet wider in some places would add $550 million a year to the local economy, according to port officials.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
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Leger-Walker challenged the UCLA dance team to teach a halftime routine within 24 hours for a video on her YouTube channel, where she was joined by Jaquez.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penstock. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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