This page gathers the 9,098 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Engineering”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 72 of 91: from “shielded twisted pair” to “single-phasing”.
- shielded twisted pair noun A pair of twisted wires which is surrounded by a metal shield in order to protect from EMI.
- shift noun A control code or character used to change between different character sets.
- shift in verb To introduce or activate a new configuration, algorithm, or processing step into a running system or workflow.
- shift key noun A key on a personal computer or terminal keyboard used to effect the same function, or to change the function of the function keys.
- shifter noun A control device (usually a lever or button) for shifting gears in a gearbox, or an arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one…
- shim noun A small library that transparently intercepts and modifies calls to an API, usually for compatibility purposes.
- shimeji noun An animated figure created by a computer program which walks around the screen and performs animations like waving or sitting on windows.
- shimmer noun A measure of the irregularities in the loudness of a particular pitch over time.
- shimming noun Applying one or more shims to an assembly to adjust the position of one or more of its parts.
- shimstock noun Stock (material) suitable for making shims; often in the form of sheets of metal, plastic, or wood of various thicknesses, ready to have…
- shingle noun A word-based n-gram.
- shininess noun The coefficient of specular reflectivity associated with the surface of an object being displayed.
- ship noun A spaceship.
- ship lift noun A device consisting of a structural platform which can be used to launch ships by lowering them into the water, or to lift them into dry…
- shitwork noun Tasks which could be done automatically by software but which the software forces the user to do manually.
- Shkadov thruster noun A hypothetical megastructure consisting of a gargantuan statite used to redirect the radiation pressure of a star, generating a net thrust…
- shock noun A shock absorber (typically in the suspension of a vehicle).
- shock absorber noun A mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp any sudden shock impulse and dissipate kinetic energy; usually consists of a combination…
- shock diamond noun Any of the diamond-shaped wave patterns that appear in the supersonic exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system, such as a supersonic…
- shock stall noun A stall (“sudden loss of lift”) caused when the airflow over an aircraft's wings is disturbed by shock waves that occurs at a specific Mach…
- shoe noun A plate, or notched piece, interposed between a moving part and the stationary part on which it bears, to take the wear and afford means of…
- shoot verb To carry out, or attempt to carry out (an approach to an airport runway).
- shooting glasses noun A type of impact-resistant eyewear worn by shooters to prevent injury due to a cartridge or gun malfunction blowing hot gas or metal…
- shop head noun A factory head; the head formed when a rivet is manufactured
- short noun An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.
- short circuit noun A usually unintentional connection of low resistance or impedance in a circuit such that excessive and often damaging current flows in it.
- short circuit operator noun A logical operator that returns a value as soon as the outcome is certain, without necessarily testing all operands (for example, an OR…
- short wave noun Alternative form of shortwave.
- shortcut noun A file that points to the location of another file and serves as a quick way to access it.
- shortwave noun An electromagnetic wave with a relatively short wavelength; specifically, one with a wavelength generally between 10 and 100 metres…
- shot sample noun A sample taken for assay from a molten metallic mass by pouring a portion into water to granulate it.
- shotgun noun A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
- shotgun debugging noun A poorly-directed form of debugging, making various experimental changes to the source code in the hope that one of them will eventually…
- shotgun surgery noun The antipattern of adding similar or identical source code in multiple parts of a software project, rather than implementing the desired…
- shoulder noun The angled section between the neck and the main body of a cartridge.
- shovelware noun A haphazard collection of software assembled in terms of quantity rather than quality.
- show time noun The time prior to the departure of a scheduled aircraft in which the passenger service representatives at an airport terminal may begin the…
- showstopper noun A software bug that must be fixed before any further development is possible.
- showstopping adj Critical; major.
- shredder noun A program that overwrites deleted data to prevent recovery.
- shrink rate noun The percentage or fraction of an original size, weight, or mass that is lost when an object or material shrinks.
- shroud noun A streamlined protective covering used to protect the payload during a rocket-powered launch.
- shuck verb To remove (an external hard drive or solid-state drive) from its casing so that it can be used inside another device.
- shunt noun A connection used as an alternative path between parts of an electrical circuit.
- shut verb To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
- sibling noun A node in a data structure that shares its parent with another node.
- sickness bag noun A small bag commonly provided to passengers on board airplanes and boats to collect and contain vomit in the event of motion sickness.
- sid noun Abbreviation of security identifier.
- side chain verb To use auxiliary audio input in that manner.
- side effect noun A change a in state outside of the local environment of the function being called.
- side-effect-free adj Of a function, operation, or expression, producing no observable changes beyond their primary output or return value.
- sidecar noun A software component that runs in a separate process from the rest of the software, to provide isolation and encapsulation.
- sidecar file noun An accompanying file that stores data, such as metadata, which is not supported by the source file format.
- sidecast verb To eject waste material that has been excavated or dredged to the side, rather than hauling it away.
- sidechannel noun An indirect source of information about what a system is doing, such as execution time, version number, etc.
- sidegrade noun A form of upgrade involving a switch to a different but equivalent product, e.g. another manufacturer or another operating system.
- sideload verb To transfer data between two local devices, rather than to or from a remote device.
- sidelock noun The design of a gun that has the lockwork mounted to the inside of a plate; compare boxlock.
- sidescreen noun A panel or window on the side of a vehicle, such as a car or aircraft, designed to protect occupants from external elements while allowing…
- sideslip noun A flight manoeuvre that uses opposing rudder and aileron inputs to move the aircraft sideways without turning it.
- sidestick noun A control joystick located beside the seat of the pilot.
- siege engine noun A large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.; specifically, a trebuchet or…
- SIer noun A systems integrator.
- sieve noun A collection of morphisms in a category whose codomain is a certain fixed object of that category, which collection is closed under…
- sift verb To move data records up in memory to make space to insert further records.
- sigil noun A nonalphanumeric symbol affixed to a term (such as a variable) to indicate a property such as type or scope.
- SIGINT noun A signal sent to a process by its controlling terminal when a user wishes to interrupt the process.
- sign bit noun The bit in the representation of a number indicating whether it is negative or positive; applicable to both twos complement and signed…
- sign in verb To take some action to access a secured program or web page on a computer; to log in.
- signal noun An electromagnetic action, normally a voltage that is a function of time, that conveys the information of the radio or TV program or of…
- signal boost noun an increase in the capacity, strength, or range of a signal
- signal processing noun A subfield of electrical engineering focusing on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing signals, such as sound, images, potential fields…
- signal-to-noise ratio noun A figure of merit that compares the strength of a signal carrying information to the level of noise interfering with it.
- signalling event noun A change of the state of a communication channel, each state representing a symbol that is to be transmitted.
- signature noun A pattern used for matching the identity of a virus, the parameter types of a method, etc.
- signature-compatible adj Of two functions or methods, having the same number and types of parameters, and the same return type, allowing one to be used in place of…
- signed adj Having both positive and negative varieties.
- signed magnitude noun The convention by which one bit in the representation of a number indicates the numeric sign, while the rest indicate the magnitude.
- silent adj With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode.
- silicon curtain noun A legal barrier to the transfer of technology and the sale of advanced computer equipment between China and the West.
- silicon lottery noun The uncertainty surrounding microprocessors' overclocking potential, which is typically unknown to a consumer (so that, by chance, some get…
- silo noun A structure in the information system that is poorly networked with other structures, with data exchange hampered.
- SIM farm noun A device that can hold several SIM cards, used by criminals to send very large numbers of texts and calls at the same time, with the aim of…
- simple adj Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
- simple harmonic motion noun oscillating motion (as of a pendulum) in which the acceleration of the oscillator has an equal magnitude but opposite direction to the…
- simple machine noun A device that only requires the application of a single force to work.
- simplex adj Of a circuit or device: involving signals which travel in one direction at a time; unidirectional.
- sinc noun Ellipsis of sinc function: f = sin(pi*x)/(pi*x).
- sine wave noun A periodically oscillating waveform as described by the sine function, possibly multiplied by some amplitude, shifted by some phase, and…
- single noun A floating-point number having half the precision of a double-precision value.
- single action adj Requiring a separate cocking movement to cock the hammer before a trigger pull can then fire the cartridge.
- single curve noun A three-dimensional shape into which a thin flat sheet of material, e.g. metal, can be formed by bending alone, without stretching or…
- single data rate noun A communication signaling technique that transfers data on either the rising edge or the falling edge of the clock signal.
- single dispatch noun A dispatch method where the implementation of a function or method is chosen solely on the type of the instance calling the method.
- single pane of glass noun A management dashboard that brings together information and metrics from various different sources, giving a unified view.
- single shot adj Of a firearm: holding only a single round of ammunition, thus needing to be reloaded after each shot.
- single-acting adj Having simplicity of action; especially acting or exerting force during strokes in one direction only.
- single-click noun The action of pushing the button on a mouse once in order to perform a different task that would be performed from a double-click or…
- single-phase adj Using an alternating current in which all voltages supplied are in the same phase.
- single-phasing noun The abnormal operation of a three-phase machine when its supply is changed by the accidental opening of one conductor.