a device for regulating the flow of a liquid into a tank, cistern, etc, consisting of a floating ball mounted at one end of an arm and a valve on the other end that opens and closes as the ball falls and rises with the water level in the cistern
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ball′ cock′,
- Building, Hydraulics, Hydraulicsa device for regulating the supply of water in a tank, cistern, or the like, consisting essentially of a valve connected to a hollow floating ball which by its rise or fall shuts or opens the valve.
- 1780–90
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