Word
hydraulic
Phoneticshy·draulic
US/haɪˈdɹɔɫɪk/
UK/haɪdɹˈɔːlɪk/
Definitions
01operated by liquid pressure
adj. describes a machine or tool that works by using liquid under pressure to move its parts.
adj. relating to or operated by the pressure of a liquid, such as oil or water, moving through a confined space.
“The mechanic had to fix the hydraulic brakes on the truck because they were leaking oil.”
“The aircraft's hydraulic system failed during the descent, forcing the pilot to rely on the mechanical backup to lower the landing gear.”
Technical
Usage
Usually placed before the noun it describes.
Synonyms
02related to water
adj. having to do with water or the way water moves.
adj. pertaining to water in motion or the study of water engineering.
“Engineers studied the hydraulic flow of the river to prevent flooding in the town.”
“The city invested in a new hydraulic infrastructure to manage the seasonal overflow from the surrounding mountain streams.”
Technical · Academic
Usage
Common in engineering and environmental science contexts.
Synonyms
03to mine with water
v. to use high-pressure water to wash away earth and find minerals like gold.
v. to conduct mining operations by using high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment.
“During the gold rush, many miners began to hydraulic the hillsides, which caused a lot of damage to the land.”
“Nineteenth-century companies would hydraulic entire mountainsides to extract gold, leading to significant environmental degradation and downstream siltation.”
Technical · Archaic
Usage
This transitive verb is primarily used in historical or specialised mining contexts.
Synonyms
Etymology
From French hydraulique, from Latin hydraulicus, from Ancient Greek ὑδραυλικός (hudraulikós, “of a water organ”), from ὕδραυλις (húdraulis, “water organ”), from ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”) + αὐλός (aulós, “pipe”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
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