top dead center

English

Noun

top dead center (uncountable)

1. (mechanical) A position in the cycle of a piston engine wherein the piston is at the topmost point in its stroke. In a four-stroke cycle, TDC occurs twice: at the end of the compression stroke and at the end of the exhaust stroke.

   Synonym: TDC (initialism)

   Antonyms: bottom dead center, BDC

   Hypernym: dead center

2. (mechanical) The reference mark on a flywheel (and engine block) indicating the engine is in this position, when aligned.

   Synonym: TDC (initialism)

   Antonyms: bottom dead center, BDC

   Hypernym: dead center

Translations

piston position

• Finnish: yläkuolokohta (fi)
• Spanish: punto muerto superior m