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Glite Dictionary
pounds per square inch

pounds per square inch

7 3.4
A unit that measures pressure equal to one pound of force on one square inch
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : libras por pulgada cuadrada
  • Air pressure at sea level is about 14.7 pounds per square inch.
  • 1,000 pounds per square inch
  • pressure in pounds per square inch
  • about pounds per square inch

Examples

  • The lessee shall test the plug with a minimum pump pressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch, with a result of no more than a 10-percent pressure drop during a 15-minute period.

    Blog text (14)

  • This meant that the boilers normally operated at a pressure of about 40 pounds per square inch.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Yeah, about 15 pounds per square inch at sea level.

    Blue Thunder (1983)

  • This pressure... which is, at sea level, 14.7 pounds per square inch... can be reduced by as much as 50 percent.

    Medium Cool (1969)

  • Jaw pressure: 1500 pounds per square inch.

    Wolfen (1981)

  • Tire pressure (pounds per square inch) was set to the maximum recommended by the vehicle specifications.

    Academic text (2010)

  • It was a routine test under fairly low pressure, twenty-five pounds per square inch.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • High-pressure boilers were designed to operate at 100 to 150 pounds per square inch, making the steam engines they ran much more powerful.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Headlights were on, climate control off, and tires set to 36 pounds per square inch (2.48 bars) pressure.

    Blog text (21)

  • Air pressure at sea level is typically about 14.7 pounds per square inch.

Synonyms

psi
vspounds per square inch
  • Specialized
25 6.1

A unit for measuring pressure showing how many pounds of force press on one square inch

is the full written form rather than the short abbreviation

Surface Forms

pounds per square inch singular
pounds per square inches plural

Morphology

pound + per + square + inch

The meaning is directly compositional: 'pound' (a unit of weight/force) + 'per' (indicating a ratio) + 'square inch' (unit of area) yields 'force per unit area' (pressure). This follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern for naming units of measurement, so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Pounds per square inch comes from a simple picture: imagine one pound of force pressing down on a tiny square that is one inch on each side, and that tiny area is a square inch. That picture shows how much 'pressure' is on that small area, so the phrase means a unit of 'pressure'.