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Automotive vocabulary · Engine and Fuel Systems

Piston

Meaning in automotive, with examples

/ˈpɪstən/nounCommon term

In automotive, piston means: A short metal cylinder that moves up and down inside an engine cylinder. The force of combustion pushes it down, and a connecting rod passes this movement to the crankshaft.

In Turkish: piston

How it is used

Used in engine design and rebuilds. Engineers talk about piston rings, piston crown and piston stroke; technicians look for piston damage, worn rings and oil consumption after an engine failure.

Example sentences

  1. The piston crown in cylinder four has a hole burned through it.

  2. Worn piston rings are the most likely cause of the high oil consumption.

Common collocations

  • piston rings
  • piston crown
  • piston stroke
  • connecting rod
  • cylinderOne of the round chambers in an engine block where a piston moves up and down and the fuel is burned. Most car engines have three, four or six cylinders.
  • crankshaftThe main rotating shaft at the bottom of an engine. It turns the up-and-down movement of the pistons into rotation that drives the gearbox.
  • internal combustion engineAn engine that burns fuel and air inside its cylinders, so the pressure of the hot gas pushes the pistons. Petrol and diesel car engines are both of this type.
  • engineThe machine that burns fuel, usually petrol or diesel, to produce the power that moves a vehicle. It turns the energy of burning fuel into rotation of the crankshaft.

More terms: Engine and Fuel Systems

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