CYLINDER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cylinder mean? 

• CYLINDER (noun)
  The noun CYLINDER has 4 senses:

1. a solid bounded by a cylindrical surface and two parallel planes (the bases)

2. a surface generated by rotating a parallel line around a fixed line

3. a chamber within which piston moves

4. a cylindrical container for oxygen or compressed air

  Familiarity information: CYLINDER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CYLINDER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A solid bounded by a cylindrical surface and two parallel planes (the bases)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("cylinder" is a kind of...):

solid (a three-dimensional shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cylinder"):

roll (anything rolled up in cylindrical form)

roller (a cylinder that revolves)

Derivation:

cylindric (having the form of a cylinder)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A surface generated by rotating a parallel line around a fixed line

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("cylinder" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cylinder"):

brake drum; drum (a hollow cast iron cylinder attached to the wheel that forms part of the brakes)

shank (cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill)

shank (cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head)

shank; stem (cylinder forming a long narrow part of something)

stalactite (a cylinder of calcium carbonate hanging from the roof of a limestone cave)

stalagmite (a cylinder of calcium carbonate projecting upward from the floor of a limestone cave)

barrel; drum (a bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends)

pipe; tube (a hollow cylindrical shape)

Derivation:

cylindric (having the form of a cylinder)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A chamber within which piston moves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cylinder; piston chamber

Hypernyms ("cylinder" is a kind of...):

chamber (a natural or artificial enclosed space)

Meronyms (parts of "cylinder"):

intake valve (a valve that controls the flow of fluid through an intake)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cylinder"):

brake cylinder; hydraulic brake cylinder; master cylinder (a cylinder that contains brake fluid that is compressed by a piston)

Holonyms ("cylinder" is a part of...):

compressor (a mechanical device that compresses gasses)

block; cylinder block; engine block (a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine)

pump (a mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A cylindrical container for oxygen or compressed air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cylinder" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Holonyms ("cylinder" is a part of...):

Aqua-Lung; aqualung; scuba (a device (trade name Aqua-Lung) that lets divers breathe under water; scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)

 Context examples 

A dosing unit equal to the amount of active ingredient(s) contained in a cylinder.

(Cylinder Dosing Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

A valve designed to regulate the flow from a storage cylinder.

(Cylinder Valve Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Fullerene-like nanostructures that consist of graphene cylinders.

(Carbon Nanotube, NCI Thesaurus)

The cylinder was then rotated in a nitrogen environment similar to Titan.

('Electric Sands' Cover Titan, VOA News)

As he talked, with reluctant movements he drew his revolver, threw open the cylinder, and assured himself of its contents.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A pipe containing multiple feeder pipes, especially the exhaust pipe that connects to each cylinder of an engine.

(Header Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A manual tool used to bore and extract a thin cylinder of wood from tree stems.

(Increment borer, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

The ground tissue occupying the center of the root within the vascular cylinder; usually consists of parenchyma.

(Pith, Root, Food and Drug Administration)

The ground tissue occupying the center of the stem within the vascular cylinder; usually consists of parenchyma.

(Pith, Stem, Food and Drug Administration)

The ground tissue occupying the center of the stem or root within the vascular cylinder; usually consists of parenchyma.

(Pith, Food and Drug Administration)