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pipefitter

pipefitter

1 4.1
A worker who installs and fixes pipes for heating and cooling systems
  • noun
  • /ˈpaɪpˌfɪtər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : instalador de tuberías
  • He took his certificate in welding down to the pipefitters' union hall and signed on.
  • plumbers and pipefitters

Examples

  • Designers normally locate the production equipment in arbitrary positions, and then have a pipefitter connect the components.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I later learned from the pipefitters that this job had already gone over budget and past deadline.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • My father, a pipefitter by trade, made certain that I had access to every scientific publication (however "popular") available to the common man back in the mid-50s/early 60s.

    Blog text (10)
  • One of the pipefitters was on a ladder, his upper body disappearing through the soggy, jagged hole he'd knocked in the sheetrock.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • There were fork truck drivers, machinists, tool and die makers, pipefitters, and millwrights all earning enough to feed, clothe, and shelter a family with very little help from the government.

    Blog text (12)
  • The pipefitter carefully installed the new heating system in the old building.

  • As a skilled pipefitter, she managed to fix the leak in just a few hours.

  • After months of training, he became a certified pipefitter and found work in a local factory.

Synonyms

pipe fitter
vspipefitter
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A worker who installs and repairs pipes that carry water, gas, or steam

focuses on mechanical heating and cooling systems rather than general utilities
steamfitter
vspipefitter
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A skilled worker who installs and repairs heating, cooling, and steam pipes and machines

focuses on pipes for heating, cooling, and other mechanical systems

Surface Forms

pipefitter singular
pipefitters plural

Morphology

pipefitter = pipe + fitter (transparent) = pipe + fit + er

A straightforward compound 'pipe' + 'fitter' where 'fitter' is the agentive form of 'fit', so the meaning is directly inferable: a fitter who works on pipes.

Etymology

Pipefitter comes from the simple parts pipe and fitter, where the verb fit means 'to join' or 'make right'. So a pipefitter is a worker who joins, installs, and repairs pipes for heating, cooling, or other mechanical systems.