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Engineering Word Of The Day

by Pios Labs

An informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Hosted by interdisciplinary engineer Pius Wong, also host of The K12 Engineering Education Podcast. Produced by Pios Labs. Support the podcast by donating to Pius's studio on Patreon: www.patreon.com/pioslabs.

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Apr 14, 2026. Source feed.

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Episodes

  1. debounce

    To shrink the number of our faulty counts, you have to learn how to debounce. This is Episode 105 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  2. anti-pattern

    My code is as long as here to Saturn, but condensed and confused in an anti-pattern. This is Episode 104 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  3. zip tie

    They told me, "Let 'er rip, guy!" "Tighten up that zip tie!" This is Episode 103 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs Originally...

  4. Maillard

    The chemical reaction we smell from afar that gives satisfaction is named Maillard. This is Episode 102 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  5. interstory drift

    Do wooden planks below my feet not splinter while they shift during monumental bends and strains from interstory drift? This is Episode 101 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the…

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  6. jerk

    Mechanical engineers must work to eliminate excessive jerk. This is Episode 100 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs Powered by...

  7. quoin

    Stack your your stones and let walls join to make an old-school building quoin. This is Episode 99 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  8. currying

    You might see some programmers scurrying when trying to implement a little currying. This is Episode 98 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  9. skunkworks

    Every product has flaws and some quirks, but are products better if they come from skunkworks? This is Episode 97 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Support the show on Patreon:...

  10. ADA

    Engineers, don't be shady, eh? Design it with the ADA. This is Episode 96 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published October 14, 2020.

  11. bioreactor

    Get an engineer and a chiropractor if you're going to move that bioreactor. This is Episode 95 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published October 8, 2020.

  12. op amp

    A real electrical top champ is the multitalented op amp. This is Episode 94 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published September 29, 2020.

  13. fenestration

    To prevent your frustration have good fenestration. This is Episode 93 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published September 22, 2020.

  14. stress

    Materials at their best will take a lot of stress. This is Episode 92 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published September 15, 2020.

  15. RUD

    If I total my car, you see, I'll just call it an RUD. This is Episode 91 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published September 10, 2020.

  16. ohm

    An engineer will feel at home when surrounded by many an ohm. This is Episode 90 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Listen to the latest episodes, ad-free…

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  17. actuator

    To control and steer kinetic energy is an actuator's ultimate apogee. This is Episode 89 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published August 7, 2020.

  18. NIST

    Is there a standard I may have missed? Time to consult the engineers at NIST. This is Episode 88 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally created July 19, 2020.

  19. tensile

    A robot arm may have a prehensile length that should be tested for its tensile strength! This is Episode 87 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published March 21, 2020.

  20. FMEA

    You want to prevent catastrophe, eh? Well, engineers, do FMEA. This is Episode 86 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published March 20, 2020.

  21. acetal

    Engineers take a ton of tests. They're thinking: Can I pass it all? They do, and they build tons of things, and some are made of acetal. This is Episode 85 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering…

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  22. resonance

    If you can't decide, and you're on the fence, get knocked right off, by some resonance. This is Episode 84 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published February 18, 2020.

  23. potentiometer

    Ah, potentiometers. So much potential use, right? This is Episode 83 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. *Note: To be more specific, current is a flow of charge. But a flow of electrons is...

  24. sontimeter / centimeter

    If your client calls a centimeter a "sontimeter," I'll assume they're medical and you've got a leader. This is Episode 82 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published February 7,...

  25. GPS [Guest: Hugo Fruehauf]

    Hugo Fruehauf, one of the co-inventors of GPS, explains the nitty-gritty of what GPS is. He also details his critical engineering work on the GPS subsystem of the atomic clock. Hugo was one of four recipients of the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, along with Dr. Bradford Parkinson,...

  26. calculus

    This challenge will not tackle us; we'll tackle it, we'll win, this calculus. This is Episode 80 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published November 11, 2019.

  27. diamagnetic

    That frog is not frenetic; it floats and is diamagnetic. This is Episode 79 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published September 20, 2019.

  28. perovskite

    Engineers, unite! Harness the power of perovskite. This is Episode 78 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Cover art by Cadmium at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to…

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  29. MVC

    It's the real MVP of simplifying user interfaces in some programming languages these days. This is Episode 77 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published May 1, 2019.

  30. CRISPR

    I like my definitions to be CRISPR and clearer. This is Episode 76 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published April 2, 2019.

  31. fugacity

    Messing with this gas of a word isn't ideal. This is Episode 75 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published March 15, 2018.

  32. metaprogramming

    Programming programs to program their own programs. This is Episode 74 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published February 25, 2019.

  33. zero-indexed

    One is fun, and zero is a hero, in our engineering programming languages. This is Episode 73 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published October 18, 2018.

  34. trochoidal

    Whip your brain into shape by studying trochoidal things.This is Episode 72 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published August 17, 2018.

  35. Six Sigma

    Let's take a crack at this jargon from quality and reliability engineering (but don't crack your products). This is Episode 71 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published...

  36. Kalman filter

    Keep your data streams from going helter skelter with the help of a Kalman filter. This is Episode 70 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published August 1, 2018.

  37. tare

    Forget to get your tare, and you might shed a tear. This is Episode 69 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published July 11, 2018.

  38. crazing

    I tried ceramic glazing / The result was quite amazing / When I saw it cool / I touched not a tool / The surface showed cracks and crazing. ***This is Episode 68 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering...

  39. negative testing

    Always think positive, unless you're doing negative testing. This is Episode 67 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published June 19, 2018.

  40. enantiomer

    She thought it was very fancy of her / to separate the two enantiomers / She looked in the mirror / It couldn't be clearer / The left one was better and handsomer. ***This is Episode 66 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in...

  41. breakpoint

    Stop everything! We've hit a breakpoint, and things are gonna get dicey. This is Episode 65 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published May 28, 2018.

  42. corrosion

    If you have some metal, in a pot or a kettle, on this you can trust: over time it'll rust. This is Episode 64 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published May 22, 2018.

  43. TRIZ

    If I read through a thousand invention patents, I hope I'd learn something, too. This is Episode 63 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published May 7, 2018.

  44. hardness

    If you can resist concentrated attack and damage, maybe you've got some engineer-level hardness. This is Episode 62 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published April 23, 2018.

  45. camber

    Cool as a cucumber curved with quite the camber. This is Episode 61 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published April 12, 2018.

  46. tribology

    Engineers who study this know how to rub you the right way. This is Episode 60 of Engineering Word Of The Day, an informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Originally published April 2, 2018.

  47. RTOS

    Wish I handled the dishes in real time, too. Originally published March 26, 2018.

  48. gigawatt

    Picture this: a lightning bolt shoots out about 10 gigawatts of power. Subscribe today: www.engineeringwordoftheday.com Originally published March 18, 2018.

  49. quaternion

    Quarter for your thoughts about quaternions? Originally published March 11, 2018.

  50. poll

    Let's take a poll. Who knows what this engineering word means? Originally published February 26, 2018.

About this show

An informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Hosted by interdisciplinary engineer Pius Wong, also host of The K12 Engineering Education Podcast. Produced by Pios Labs. Support the podcast by donating to Pius's studio on Patreon: www.patreon.com/pioslabs.

Hosted by

Pios Labs

Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does Engineering Word Of The Day have?

Engineering Word Of The Day has 105 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on June 11, 2022.

What is Engineering Word Of The Day about?

An informal show on favorite, fascinating, or funny words and phrases used in various engineering disciplines. Hosted by interdisciplinary engineer Pius Wong, also host of The K12 Engineering Education Podcast. Produced by Pios Labs. Support the podcast by donating to Pius's studio on Patreon:...

Who hosts Engineering Word Of The Day?

Engineering Word Of The Day is created and hosted by Pios Labs.
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