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diaphragm

/ˈdaɪəˌfɹæm/ noun C1
  1. In mammals, a sheet of muscle separating the thorax from the abdomen, contracted and relaxed in respiration to draw air into and expel air from the lungs. · thoracic diaphragm· pulmonary diaphragm
  2. Any of various membranes or sheets of muscle or ligament which separate one cavity from another.
  3. A contraceptive device consisting of a flexible cup, used to cover the cervix during intercourse. · cervical diaphragm· contraceptive diaphragm
  4. A flexible membrane separating two chambers and fixed around its periphery that distends into one or other chamber as the difference in the pressure in the chambers varies.
  5. In a speaker, the thin, semi-rigid membrane which vibrates to produce sound. · acoustic diaphragm
  6. A thin opaque structure with a central aperture, used to limit the passage of light into a camera or similar device.
  7. A permeable or semipermeable membrane.
  8. A floor slab, metal wall panel, roof panel or the like, having a sufficiently large in-plane shear stiffness and sufficient strength to transmit horizontal forces to resisting systems.

Plural diaphragms

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.