Word.ws English Dictionary

Pascal's barrel

Pascal's barrel proper noun: a hydrostatic experiment in which a long vertical tube is inserted into an otherwise sealed barrel filled with water. Pouring water into the tube leads to an increase in hydrostatic pressure and causes the barrel to burst.

Proper noun

Pascal's barrel

  1. A hydrostatic experiment in which a long vertical tube is inserted into an otherwise sealed barrel filled with water. Pouring water into the tube leads to an increase in hydrostatic pressure and causes the barrel to burst.

Origin of Pascal's barrel

Said to have been performed by Blaise Pascal in 1646 (though not mentioned in his preserved works).

Questions about Pascal's barrel

What does Pascal's barrel mean?
Pascal's barrel means a hydrostatic experiment in which a long vertical tube is inserted into an otherwise sealed barrel filled with water. Pouring water into the tube leads to an increase in hydrostatic pressure and causes the barrel to burst.
What part of speech is Pascal's barrel?
Pascal's barrel is a proper noun.

Words near Pascal's barrel in the dictionary

  1. Pascagoula
  2. pascal
  3. Pascal case
  4. Pascal string
  5. Pascal strings
  6. Pascal's barrel
  7. Pascal's gamble
  8. Pascal's law
  9. Pascal's mugging
  10. Pascal's triangle
  11. Pascal's triangles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Pascal's barrel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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