WATER HAMMER

n.

2 definitions — Webster’s Dictionary (1828)


1.
n.

A vessel partly filled with water, exhausted of air, and hermetically sealed. When reversed or shaken, the water being unimpeded by air, strikes the sides in solid mass with a sound like that of a hammer.

2.
n.

A concussion, or blow, made by water in striking, as against the sides of a pipe or vessel containing it.