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Glite Dictionary
thrust bearing

thrust bearing

7.4
A part that takes force along a spinning shaft in a machine
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cojinete de empuje
  • The engine’s thrust bearing supports the axial loads generated by the rotating shaft.

Examples

  • Regular maintenance of the thrust bearing can prevent costly repairs in industrial machinery.

  • A main thrust bearing is an equalizing tilting-pad type.

    Academic text (1994)

  • So we put a spindle in here with a bolt, and then on either side we have the thrust bearing, and that keeps it running nice and smoothly.

  • The technician replaced the worn-out thrust bearing to ensure the machine operated smoothly.

Surface Forms

thrust bearing singular
thrust bearings plural

Morphology

thrust + bearing

The meaning 'a bearing designed to support thrust or axial loads' is directly composed from 'thrust' (axial/propulsive force) plus 'bearing' (a part that allows rotation), so the definition is predictable from the parts. This straightforward noun–noun technical compound follows regular English composition patterns and would be inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The noun thrust bearing comes from what it does: thrust means a strong 'push' along a shaft and a bearing is a part that supports moving pieces. Imagine a rod pushing forward and a round support catching that push, so a thrust bearing is a bearing made to take that 'push'.