triple-expansion

[ trip-uhl-ik-span-shuhn ]

adjective

1. noting a power source, especially a steam engine, using the same fluid at three successive stages of expansion to do work in three or more cylinders.

Example Sentences

Life’s sister magazine, Time, was no less susceptible to his rough-diamond charm, calling him a “hard-headed, steel-willed” corporate chieftain with “horse sense, a command of men, and the driving force of a triple-expansion engine.”

From Salon

Reciprocating engines.—The reciprocating engines were of the four-crank triple-expansion type.

From Project Gutenberg

The triple-expansion engine is cutting down ocean freight, making distance of no account.

From Project Gutenberg

Each of them is fitted with two sets of the most powerful triple-expansion engines ever put together.

From Project Gutenberg

The triple-expansion machinery and boilers, designed to drive the boat at a speed of 12 m. an hour, are in the extreme stern, and the pilot house and quarters in the extreme bow, leaving all the cargo space together.

From Project Gutenberg