a sliding disc or short cylinder fitting within a cylinder in which it moves back and forth or up and down by or against fluid pressure. In an internal-combustion engine, it turns a crankshaft to produce motion
a sliding valve in a cylinder in a brass instrument, which, when depressed, alters a note's pitch
a button on an organ that controls a group of stops
[French piston from Italian pistone, ultimately from Latin pinsere to crush]