vapour lock
noun
Simple meaning
A problem mostly affecting gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vaypawrlahkSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈveɪˈpɔɹlɑk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A problem mostly affecting gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines, where the liquid fuel changes state from liquid to gas while still in the fuel delivery system, reducing the pump pressure and causing transient power loss or complete stalling.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: A problem mostly affecting gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines, where the liquid fuel changes state from liquid to gas while still in the fuel delivery system, reducing the pump pressure and causing transient power loss or complete stalling.
Used this way, vapour lock is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.