Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense suctions, present participle suctioning, past tense, past participle suctioned
1. uncountable noun
Suction is the process by which liquids, gases, or other substances are drawn out of somewhere.
Dustbags act as a filter and suction will be reduced if they are too full.
...the suction of the milking machine.
2. verb
If a doctor or nurse suctions a liquid, they remove it by using a machine which sucks it away.
Michael was showing the nurse how to suction his saliva. [VERB noun]
We found a cyst and I suctioned off the liquid within. [VERB noun with adverb]
3. uncountable noun [oft NOUN noun]
Suction is the process by which two surfaces stick together when the air between them is removed.
...their pneumatic robot which uses air to move and sticks to surfaces by suction.
suction in British English
(ˈsʌkʃən)
noun
1.
the act or process of sucking
2.
the force or condition produced by a pressure difference, as the force holding a suction cap onto a surface
3.
the act or process of producing such a force or condition
Derived forms
suctional (ˈsuctional)
adjective
Word origin
C17: from Late Latin suctiō a sucking, from Latin sūgere to suck
suction in American English
(ˈsʌkʃən)
noun
1.
the act or process of sucking
2.
the production of a vacuum or partial vacuum in a cavity or over a surface so that the external atmospheric pressure forces the surrounding fluid, particulate solid, etc. into the cavity or causes something to adhere to the surface
3.
the suction force created in this way
adjective
4.
causing suction
5.
operating by suction
Word origin
L suctio < suctus, pp. of sugere, to suck
Examples of 'suction' in a sentence
suction
His complexion was mottled red and white, as if somebody had applied suction cups to it, and he was staring stonily, blindly straight ahead.
Pickard, Nancy NO BODY (2004)
One of the miscellaneous objects I have with me is a small inflatable bag with suction pads attached to it.
Scarlett Thomas POPCO (2004)
They stepped over to the crown exhibit, and he drew a glass cutter and a suction cup from the knapsack.
Carey, M. V. THE TRAIL OF TERROR (THE THREE INVESTIGATORS MYSTERIES NO 39) (2004)
All related terms of 'suction'
suction cup
a cup-shaped device made of flexible material that is used to draw out a substance or adhere to a non-porous surface by means of suction
suction pad
a device for attaching to a non-porous surface by means of suction
suction disc
a device for attaching to a non-porous surface by means of suction
suction pump
a pump for raising water or other fluid by suction . It usually consists of a cylinder containing a piston fitted with a flap valve
suction stop
a short light often metallic sound
suction valve
a nonreturn valve in a pump suction to prevent the pump draining or depriming when not in service
net positive suction head
The net positive suction head is a measure of a pump's performance .