A bored and honed cylindrical space that houses a reciprocating piston. In engines and compressors, it contains the combustion or compression process. In hydraulics and pneumatics, the term refers to the entire linear actuator assembly including the barrel, piston, and rod.
Heard on the job
Check the bore on cylinder three for scoring before we order the oversize rings.
Insider tip
Mechanics often use cylinder to mean the entire hydraulic actuator, while engine builders use it strictly for the bore in the engine block.