Siphoning definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (29)

American Heritage Dictionary (4)

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.
noun Zoology A tubular organ, especially of aquatic invertebrates such as squids or clams, by which water is taken in or expelled.
transitive verb To draw off or convey through or as if through a siphon.

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Century Dictionary (19)

A bent pipe or tube with legs of unequal length, used for drawing liquid out of a vessel by causing it to rise in the tube over the rim or top. For this purpose the shorter leg is inserted in the liquid, and the air is exhausted by being drawn through the longer leg. The liquid then rises by the pressure of the atmosphere and fills the tube, and the flow begins from the lower end. Sometimes an exhausting-tube (a in the figure) is placed on the longer leg; the air, in that case, is sucked out through a till the tube is filled to the cock b, which is then opened, and the flow commences—the cock b being so constructed as to close the suction-tube when the siphon is running. But the more general method is to fill the tube in the first place with the liquid, and then, stopping the mouth of the longer leg, to insert the shorter leg in the vessel; upon removal of the stop, the liquid will immediately begin to run. The flow depends upon the difference in vertical height of the two columns of the liquid, measured respectively from the bend of the tube to the level of the water in the vessel and to the open end of the tube. The flow ceases as soon as, by the lowering of the level in the vessel, these columns become of equal height, or when this level descends to the end of the shorter leg. The atmospheric pressure is essential to support the column of liquid from the vessel up to the top of the bend of the tube, and this height is consequently limited, varying inversely with the density of the liquid. At sea-level the maximum height is a little less than 30 inches for mercury and 34 feet for water.
In zoology, a canal or conduit, without reference to size, shape, or function; generally, a tube or tubular organ through which water or other fluid passes; a siphuncle. Specifically- In Mollusca: (1) A tubular fold or prolongation of the mantle, forming a tube, generally paired, capable of protraction and retraction, characteristic of the siphonate or sinupalliate bivalves. It conveys water, and is of various shape and size, sometimes several times longer than the rest of the animal when fully extended, but usually capable of being withdrawn into the shell. In Teredo the united siphons are so long that the mollusk resembles a worm. See cuts under ship-worm, Teredo, quahog, and Mya. (2) A similar siphon in some gastropods, extending from the anterior portion of the mantle over the head. See cut under Siphonostomata, 2. (3) The characteristic siphuncle, funnel, or infundibulum of cephalopods, formed from the mesopodium, and serving as an organ of locomotion by confining and directing the jet of water which is forced through it. See siphuncle. (4) A tubular or canaliculate formation of the shell of any mollusk which covers or protects the soft siphon; especially, the siphuncle of a cephalopod, or the communication between the compartments of the shell. In Rotifera, the calcar or tentaculum, a part or process of the trochal disk, supposed to be a sense-organ. In Protozoa, one of the tubes which traverse the septa of the interior of polythalamous tests, as the shells of foraminifers. In entomology, the suctorial mouth-parts or sucking-tube of some insects, as fleas (Siphonaptera) and bugs (Siphonata). In Crustacea, the suctorial mouth-parts of various parasitic forms. See Siphonostomata, 1. In Vermes, a spout-like process of the mouth of gephyrean or sipunculacean worms. See Gephyrea and Sipunculoidea. In Echinodermata, a tubular formation connected with the alimentary canal of some sea-urchins.
[capitalized] [NL.] In conchology, a genus of gastropods. Also Sipho (Klein, 1753; Fabricius, 1822) and Sypho (Brown, 1827).

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The car has a safety device in the gas tank that prevents siphoning, but Alex breaks through it with the crowbar. — RustyNail
Gazprom blamed Ukraine for siphoning off or blocking deliveries of gas equivalent to one sixth of the total Russian supply to Europe, and said it was increasing exports to make up some of the shortfall. — News on www.kyivpost.com
I'm referring to the freshly baked ordeal with Bernard Madoff and his clever scheme of siphoning off billions of dollars. — DotNetSlackers Latest ASP.NET News
"Since December 31 Ukraine has refused to negotiate with Gazprom and has resorted to siphoning off gas intended for European consumers, in violation of its obligations as a country of transit," Gazprom deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev said in a statement. — iac world news feed
Other key disagreements include the price of Russian gas sold to Ukraine, possible payment of hundreds of millions of dollars of penalty fees by Ukraine to Russia, and possible siphoning of Russian gas by Ukraine during the first days of 2009. — The Earth Times Online Newspaper

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siphoning

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