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siphon

The definition of a siphon is a tube that is used to draw liquid from one container into another, lower container by atmospheric pressure and gravity.

(noun)

An example of a siphon is a tube where gas is forced out of a gas tank into a gas container on the ground.

To siphon is to run a tube from one container to another in a way that uses atmospheric pressure to move the liquid into the lower container.

(verb)

When you hook up a tube to a gas tank and then use atmospheric pressure to move the gas out of that tank into a gas canister below it, this is an example of a time when you siphon.

See siphon in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a bent tube used for carrying liquid from a reservoir over the top edge of its container to a point below the surface of the reservoir: the tube must be filled, as by suction, before flow will start
siphon bottle
a tubelike organ in some animals, as cuttlefishes, used for drawing in or ejecting liquids

Origin: Fr < L sipho (gen. siphonis) < Gr siphōn, tube, siphon

transitive verb

to draw off or carry through or as through a siphon

intransitive verb

to pass through a siphon

Related Forms:

siphonal adjective or siphonic

See siphon in American Heritage Dictionary 4

also sy·phon

noun

A pipe or tube fashioned or deployed in an inverted U shape and filled until atmospheric pressure is sufficient to force a liquid from a reservoir in one end of the tube over a barrier higher than the reservoir and out the other end.
Zoology A tubular organ, especially of aquatic invertebrates such as squids or clams, by which water is taken in or expelled.

verb si·phoned also sy·phoned, si·phon·ing also sy·phon·ing, si·phons also sy·phons

verb, transitive

To draw off or convey through or as if through a siphon.

verb, intransitive

To pass through a siphon.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Latin sīphō, sīphōn-

Origin: , from Greek sīphōn

Related Forms: