stuffing : Idioms & Phrases

noun a small chamber in which packing is compressed around a reciprocating shaft or piston to form a seal
packing box.

a device for rendering a joint impervious where there is a hole through which a movable cylindrical body, as the paston rod of a steam engine, or the plunger of a pump, slides back and forth, or in which a shaft turns. It usually consists of a box or chamber, made by an enlargement of part of the hole, forming a space around the rod or shaft for containing packing which is compressed and made to fill the space closely by means of a sleeve, called the gland, which fits loosely around the rod, and is pressed upon the packing by bolts or other means.