Word.ws English Dictionary

vapor locks

vapor locks is the plural of vapor lock.

Meaning of vapor lock

Noun

vapor lock (countable and uncountable, plural vapor locks)

  1. 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.
  2. (especially) Synonym of air lock.
    • The Coast Guard Marine Safety Center modeled and analyzed the lube oil levels in the main engine sump in a static condition. The safety center concluded that with 1,226 gallons of oil in the sump, as was likely on the accident voyage, and a 5-foot trim by the stern (0.4°), the bellmouth opening of...2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.4.1 Loss of Propulsion”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked...
    Synonyms:
    air lock

Questions about vapor locks

What is vapor locks the plural of?
Vapor locks is the plural of vapor lock.

Words near vapor locks in the dictionary

  1. vapocoolants
  2. vapor
  3. vapor barrier
  4. vapor barriers
  5. vapor lock
  6. vapor locks
  7. vapor pen
  8. vapor pens
  9. vapor pressure
  10. vapor pressures
  11. vapor retarder

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: vapor locks (page history and authors); vapor lock (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:

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