A camber is a gradual downward slope from the centre of a road to each side of it.
camber in British English
(ˈkæmbə)
noun
1.
a slight upward curve to the centre of the surface of a road, ship's deck, etc
2. another name for bank2 (sense 7)
3.
an outward inclination of the front wheels of a road vehicle so that they are slightly closer together at the bottom than at the top
4. Also called: hog
a small arching curve of a beam or girder provided to lessen deflection and improve appearance
5.
aerofoil curvature expressed by the ratio of the maximum height of the aerofoil mean line to its chord
verb
6.
to form or be formed with a surface that curves upwards to its centre
Word origin
C17: from Old French (northern dialect) cambre curved, from Latin camurus; related to camerachamber
camber in American English
(ˈkæmbər)
noun
1.
a slight convex curve of a surface, as of a road, a ship's deck, or a beam
2.
in automotive wheel alignment, a slight tilt given to each of a pair of wheels on an axle: positive camber indicates that the bottoms are closer together than the tops, and negative camber indicates the opposite situation
see also toe-in
3. Aeronautics
the arching curve of an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge
verb transitive, verb intransitive
4.
to arch slightly; curve convexly
Word origin
OFr cambre, dial. var. of chambre, bent < L camur, crooked, arched: for IE base see camera
camber in Automotive Engineering1
(kæmbər)
Word forms: (regular plural) cambers
noun
(Automotive engineering: Vehicle components, Brakes, steering, wheels, tires, and suspension)
Camber is the angle of the plane of a wheel in relation to the vertical plane of symmetry of a vehicle. Camber is considered positive if the wheels lean out towards the top, and negative if they slope inward.
COLLOCATIONS: negative ~positive ~
To enhance rear-end grip, he gave the rear wheels three degrees' negative camber, leaning inwards at the top.
This system automatically adjusts the camber in the rear wheels to allow the maximum amount of tire-surface-to-road-surface contactwhile the race car is cornering.
Front wheels often have a little positive camber in order to provide stable handling in turns.
camber in Automotive Engineering2
(kæmbər)
Word forms: (regular plural) cambers
noun
(Automotive engineering: Design and performance)
A camber is a gradual downward slope from the center of a road to each side of it.
You have to be really careful driving on hills, where the camber changes all the time.
On the icy road, the slightest camber caused the four-wheel drive to drift off line.
The 4-wheel independent suspension has double wishbones up front with upper and lowerA-arms to minimize camber changes and help maintain road contact.
Examples of 'camber' in a sentence
camber
I disembarked and stood looking over the edge of the camber.
Gash, Jonathan THE TARTAN RINGERS
Nall was there, looking closely at the contour and camber of the road.