dwell

  1. Noun.  A period of time in which a system or component remains in a given state.
  2. Noun.  A brief pause in the motion of part of a mechanism to allow an operation to be completed.
  3. Noun.  (electrical engineering) A planned delay in a timed control program.
  4. Noun.  (automotive) In a petrol engine, the period of time the ignition points are closed to let current flow through the ignition coil in between each spark. This is measured as an angle in degrees around the camshaft in the distributor which controls the points, for example in a 4-cylinder engine it might be 55° (spark at 90° intervals, points closed for 55° between each).
  5. Verb.  (intransitive, now) To live; to reside.
  6. Verb.  (intransitive) To linger ('''on''') a particular thought, idea etc.; to remain fixated (on).
  7. Verb.  (intransitive, engineering) To be in a given state.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.