Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In machinery See beam, 2 .

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The captain heard it on the instant, as did the engineer; for the latter checked the swinging of the ponderous working-beam at the same second that he received the signal from the captain -- a thing which never happens unless in some such emergency.

    Brave Tom The Battle That Won Edward Sylvester Ellis 1878

  • He prepared a model upon his return to Soho, using a crank connected with the working-beam of the engine for that purpose, which worked satisfactorily.

    James Watt Andrew Carnegie 1877

  • What seemed strange in the vessel was the substitution of lofty and straight black smoke-pipes, rising from the deck, instead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly stood on the vessels navigating the stream, and, in place of the spars and rigging, the curious play of the working-beam and pistons, and the slow turning and splashing of the huge and naked paddle-wheels, met the astonished gaze.

    Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made James Dabney McCabe 1862

  • It reminded me of the working-beam of the engine on the steam-boat that I had just landed from -- fifteen strokes a minute; but there was this difference: that, whereas the working-beam kept steadily at it, Quashy, on the contrary, would stop about every five strokes and lean upon his hoe, and look around, apparently congratulating himself upon the amount of work he had accomplished.

    A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States; With Remarks on Their Economy 1856

  • We are used to force in the muscles of horses, in the expansive potency of steam, but here we have force stripped stark naked, -- nothing but a filament to cover its nudity, -- and yet showing its might in efforts that would task the working-beam of a ponderous steam-engine.

    Over the Teacups Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

  • We are used to force in the muscles of horses, in the expansive potency of steam, but here we have force stripped stark naked, -- nothing but a filament to cover its nudity, -- and yet showing its might in efforts that would task the working-beam of a ponderous steam-engine.

    Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

  • Some imagined it to be a sea-monster, while others did not hesitate to express their belief that it was a sign of the approaching judgment What seemed strange in the vessel was the substitution of lofty and straight black smoke-pipes, rising from the deck, instead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly stood on the vessels navigating the stream, and, in place of the spars and rigging, the curious play of the working-beam and pistons, and the slow turning and splashing of the huge and naked paddle-wheels, met the astonished gaze.

    Great Fortunes and How They Were Made McCabe, Jr James D 1887

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