Mandrel
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A round object used as an aid for shaping a material, e.g. shaping or enlarging a ring, or bending or enlarging a pipe without creasing or kinking it.
"The coil springs were manufactured by winding the heated steel strip direct out of the furnace on to a mandrel of the requisite size."
- 2 any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts wordnet
- 3 A tool or component of a tool that guides, grips or clamps something, such as a workpiece to be machined, a machining tool or a part while it is moved.
"This socket forms the starting point of the piercing operation, enabling the mandrel to center itself on the work."
- 1 To shape with a mandrel. transitive
Example
More examples"The coil springs were manufactured by winding the heated steel strip direct out of the furnace on to a mandrel of the requisite size."
Etymology
From French mandrin, probably from Vulgar Latin *mamphurinum, from Latin mamphur (“a bow drill”), ultimately from Oscan or Ancient Greek μαννοφόρον (mannophóron, “wearing a collar”), from μανά (maná, “collar”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear”); first element cognate with Latin monile (“collar”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.