make-and-break

[ meyk-uhn-breyk ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a device, operated by an electric current, for automatically opening or closing a circuit once it has been closed or opened by a mechanical springlike device, as in a doorbell.

Word History and Origins

Origin of make-and-break¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Woods won the 2005 Masters in a playoff against Chris DiMarco, who said recently that if Woods decided to play this year, the tournament would be a “make-and-break week.”

From New York Times

A single-cylinder, air-cooled gasoline motor having mechanically-operated inlet and exhaust valves and a make-and-break igniter, all worked from a single cam, and carrying a small propeller on its crankshaft, was shown on this machine.

From Scientific American

Make-and-break points, on the other hand, were unaffected by excess oil in the cylinder.

From Project Gutenberg

High-tension current has always, and rightfully so, been thought of as a troublemaker in service; in Beaumont's 1900 edition of Motor Vehicles and Motors, which seems to have been technically the best volume of its time, the editor predicted that low-tension make-and-break ignition would ultimately supersede all other methods.

From Project Gutenberg

Ignition was make-and-break and the inlet valves were mechanically actuated.

From Project Gutenberg