Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or process of sucking.
  • noun A force that causes a fluid or solid to be drawn into an interior space or to adhere to a surface because of the difference between the external and internal pressures.
  • transitive verb To draw away or remove by the force of suction.
  • transitive verb To clean or evacuate (a body cavity, for example) by the force of suction.
  • adjective Creating suction.
  • adjective Operating or operated by suction.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The downward strain in a plow due to the depression given the share point in order to secure penetration. In a walking plow the suction is measured by the distance between the landside and a straight-edge touching the point of the share and the heel of the landside. Also suck.
  • noun The process or condition of sucking; the removal of air or gas from any interior space producing a diminution of pressure which induces an inrush of gas or liquid to restore the equilibrium.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act or process of sucking; the act of drawing, as fluids, by exhausting the air.
  • noun the chamber of a pump into which the suction pipe delivers.
  • noun the induction pipe, and induction valve, of a pump, respectively.
  • noun the common pump, in which the water is raised into the barrel by atmospheric pressure. See Illust. of Pump.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The principle of physics by which matter is drawn from one space into another because the pressure inside the second space is lower than the pressure in the first.
  • noun The principle of physics by which one item is caused to adhere to another because the pressure in the space between the items is lower than the pressure outside that space.
  • noun The process of creating an imbalance in pressure to draw matter from one place to another.
  • verb To create an imbalance in pressure between one space and another in order to draw matter between the spaces.
  • verb To draw out the contents of a space.
  • adjective Of or relating to something that operates by the principle of creating an imbalance in pressure to draw matter from one place to another.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb remove or draw away by the force of suction
  • noun the act of sucking
  • verb empty or clean (a body cavity) by the force of suction
  • noun a force over an area produced by a pressure difference

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin sūctiō, sūctiōn-, from Latin sūctus, past participle of sūgere, to suck; see seuə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin sugere (to suck)

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word suction.

Examples

  • Please CNN notify the nation in advance when you decide to finally brake suction from the President so that the shock wave doesn't knock your remaining viewers from their chairs.

    John King to replace Lou Dobbs 2009

  • That identity disk looks like a freakin 'suction-cup when it's attached to that guy's back. eating class

    Tron Legacy Set Visit Preview | /Film 2010

  • Most windshield repair kits include a bracket with a built-in suction cup pump that adheres to the windshield, as well as a drill bit that can create a tiny opening into the damaged area for the repair resin to flow into.

    SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles - Part 102 2009

  • The suction from the hole resulted in several helicopter crashes and therefore flight above the hole is now prohibited.

    CD Hole Art 2006

  • The suction from the hole resulted in several helicopter crashes and therefore flight above the hole is now prohibited.

    2006 » July 2006

  • The pendulum which comes down first, opens a communication with a vacuum, and the resulting suction is used, by a mechanical device, to produce a sudden expansion of the gas that is being examined.

    Nobel Prize in Physics 1927 - Presentation Speech 1965

  • A proof of this effect is shown by any well with a sucking pump -- up which, as is commonly known, the water will rise nearly thirty feet, by what is called suction, which is, in fact, the pressure of air towards an empty place.

    Barometer and Weather Guide Robert Fitzroy 1835

  • I too have had and experienced a number of vacuum cleaners from the bag to bagless, self propelled, to one called the Animal who’s suction is so powerful it eats bowling balls … … … … … Cheeeeeez!

    Like Our Man In Havana... 2005

  • I too have had and experienced a number of vacuum cleaners from the bag to bagless, self propelled, to one called the Animal who’s suction is so powerful it eats bowling balls … … … … … Cheeeeeez!

    Like Our Man In Havana... 2005

  • I too have had and experienced a number of vacuum cleaners from the bag to bagless, self propelled, to one called the Animal who’s suction is so powerful it eats bowling balls … … … … … Cheeeeeez!

    Like Our Man In Havana... 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.