Word.ws English Dictionary

underfriction

underfriction noun: a system for preventing a rollercoaster train from jumping off the track while in violent motion, using additional wheels under the track.

Noun

underfriction (uncountable)

  1. (attributive) A system for preventing a rollercoaster train from jumping off the track while in violent motion, using additional wheels under the track.
    • Altho having 5,000 feet of track, every inc of the route is full of thrill and sensation. Winnwood used the 1922 construction with the safety underfriction and the second coaster was the kids' and adults' "Picnic" type, with around 1,100 feet of track.1928, The Billboard, page 64
    • Here knowledge of "banks," pitches, and curves, and acceleration and underfriction in ride-building meant nothing; mystic mazes, fun houses, walk-throughs and Damfino's, which were laugh-getters on a Midway, had no appeal when the same principle was put into a moving picture.1929, Homer Croy, Coney Island, page 208

Examples of underfriction in a sentence

  • Underfriction allowed coasters to be taller, steeper, and faster than anything previously imagined.2003, Bret Witter, Carnival Undercover, Plume Books:
  • ... and underfriction wheels that kept coaster cars locked onto their tracks, a development that fostered higher speeds and allowed cars to turn upside down or bank suddenly.2023 August 1, Frank Vizard, Made in New York: 25 Innovators Who Shaped Our World, State University of New York Press, →ISBN:

Origin of underfriction

From under- + friction.

Questions about underfriction

What does underfriction mean?
Underfriction means a system for preventing a rollercoaster train from jumping off the track while in violent motion, using additional wheels under the track.
How do you use underfriction in a sentence?
Underfriction allowed coasters to be taller, steeper, and faster than anything previously imagined.
What part of speech is underfriction?
Underfriction is a noun.

Words near underfriction in the dictionary

  1. underfreight
  2. underfreighted
  3. underfreighting
  4. underfreights
  5. underfrequency
  6. underfriction
  7. underfringe
  8. underfringes
  9. underfrock
  10. underfrocks
  11. underfucked

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underfriction (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underfriction.wav.

Cite this entry: “underfriction.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/underfriction. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.