émbolo

piston

noun EM-boh-loh Rare

Also means

plunger, embolus (medical)

Usage Note

Émbolo is a proparoxytone requiring an accent mark. In mechanics it refers to a piston moving inside a cylinder, and it also names the plunger of a syringe. In medicine it denotes an embolus — a clot or foreign particle carried in the bloodstream that can cause an embolia (embolism).

Examples

"El émbolo del motor estaba desgastado."

Natural Translation

The engine piston was worn out.

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