pick stitch
A simple running stitch that catches only a few threads of the fabric, showing very little of the thread on the right (outer) side of the garment.
Entries starting with P
375 entries.
pick-at-will
adjectiveManufacturing
Of or relating to a kind of loom with several shuttle boxes, allowing various colours of yarn to be combined as desired.
picker
nounManufacturing
The piece in a loom that strikes the end of the shuttle and impels it through the warp.
pickle
nounMetalworking
A bath of dilute sulphuric or nitric acid, etc., to remove burnt sand, scale, rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their colour.
picoampere
An SI unit of current equal to 10⁻¹² amperes. Symbol: pA
picocell
A wireless communication system covering a small area, such as a single office or railway station, often used to extend cellular network coverage to indoor areas where signals cannot easily penetrate.
picogram
An SI unit of mass equal to 10⁻¹² grams. Symbol: pg
picokatal
An SI unit of catalytic activity equal to 10⁻¹² katals. Symbol: p
picometre
An SI unit of length equal to 10⁻¹² metres. Symbol: pm
piconewton
An SI unit of force equal to 10⁻¹² newtons. Symbol: pN
picosecond
An SI unit of time equal to 10⁻¹² seconds. Symbol: ps
picosiemens
An SI unit of electrical conductance equal to 10⁻¹² siemens.
picqué work
pounced work; decoration by dots or slight depressions
picture framing
nounConstruction
A square or rectangular pattern of ridges in a roof membrane or covering over insulation or deck joints.
picture tube
In a television set, before the development of LED screens, the cathode ray tube which produced moving images on its surface.
pie crust collar
A high collar which has an even ruffle in the shape of a fluted pie crust.
piece goods
textiles sold by pieces or fixed sizes, such as cloth from clothes-making, calicos, sheetings, etc.
piece-dye
To dye (a finished fabric) after it has been woven or knitted, but before it is cut and sewn into finished products like garments.
piecen
verbManufacturing
To join broken threads or ends in spinning.
pig farm
A farm where domestic pigs are raised and bred, primarily for food and, sometimes, for their skin.
pig iron
nounMetallurgy
A brittle, impure form of iron produced by smelting iron ore which is often shaped into blocks; it is unsuitable for working but suitable for casting, and so is commonly used as an industrial raw material; (countable) a sample of such iron.
pigtail
A short length of twisted electrical wire.
piling rig
A large crawler track-mounted drill used in foundation projects which require drilling into sandy soil, clay, silty clay, and similar environments. Such rigs are similar in function to oil drilling rigs.
pill
A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibers formed on the surface of a textile fabric by rubbing.
pilled
adjectiveManufacturing
Of woven fabric: having formed small matted balls of fiber.
pilotman
nounRail equipment
A railway employee who directs operations over a section of railway line temporarily reduced to single track, e.g. during maintenance work, or within an unsignalled area or over a line unfamiliar to the engine crew.
pin
nounManufacturing
A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.
pin header
A type of electrical connector, consisting of one or more rows of male pins evenly spaced apart.
pinch out
A volume of rock or oil trapped or isolated between strata that have pinched it out.
pinch roller
A rubber wheel that presses tape against a capstan.
pincushion
A device, originally like a small, stuffed cushion, designed to have sewing pins and needles stuck into it to store them safely; some modern pincushions hold the objects magnetically.
pincushion corner
nounSurveying
A place where several surveyors have set markers, all purporting to mark the same property corner.
pineapple opal
A large raw opal spheroidal gemstone with pineapple-like projection points
pinion
The smallest gear in a gear train.
pink salt
Any salt that is pink in color. Especially:
pinking shears
A pair of scissors with zigzag cutting edges, used to cut fabric: the zigzag edge helps keep the fabric from fraying.
pinout
The manner in which an electrical connector or device is wired; the list of signals that correspond to each pin or output.
pipe
verbMetallurgy
Of a metal ingot: to become hollow in the process of solidifying.
pipe bender
nounPlumbing
A tool or device used to bend pipes, tubes, or conduits into various shapes or angles.
piping
nounManufacturing
An ornamentation on the edges of a garment; a small cord covered with cloth.
piqué
nounManufacturing
A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
pistol pipe
A pipe in which the blast of a furnace is heated.
piston
A solid disk or cylinder that fits inside a hollow cylinder, and moves under pressure (as in an engine) or displaces fluid (as in a pump)
pit boss
A direct overseer of laborers in a mining operation.
PIT maneuver
nounAutomotive
A technique in which a pursuing car bumps the rear fender of a pursued car, causing it to spin out, in order to terminate a car chase.
pitch
The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.
pitch mining
The mining of steeply inclined seams of coal.
pitching piece
nounCarpentry
The horizontal timber supporting the floor of a platform of a stairway, and against which the stringpieces of the sloping parts are supported.
pitfall
Subsidence below ground in a mine, which can cause the ground level above to drop.
pitting resistance equivalent number
nounMetallurgy
A number, calculated using a given stainless steel alloy's chemical composition, which aims to predict its resistance to pitting corrosion.
pitwork
Pumping machinery used in a mine.
pitwright
A carpenter or engineer employed at a mine.
pizza dish
A Kᵤ-band satellite dish used by direct broadcast satellite systems, ranging from 18 to 31 inches in diameter.
piña
nounMetalworking
A cone of silver amalgam prepared for retorting.
PK nail
nounSurveying
A thick-shanked nail with an indentation in the middle of its head, driven into the ground to mark a position precisely.
plaid
nounManufacturing
A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
plain work
nounConstruction
Smooth stonework without decoration or ornamentation.
plain-woven
adjectiveManufacturing
Woven with the most basic textile weave, called plain weave.
plane
nounCarpentry
A tool for smoothing wood by removing thin layers from the surface.
planer
nounWoodworking
A tool which smooths a surface or makes one surface of a workpiece parallel to the tool's bed.