crowbar

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a strong iron or steel bar, often flattened or curved at one end, used as a lever to force things apart

   Firefighters used a crowbar to pry open the jammed door.

2. 2
   noun

   an electrical safety circuit that protects equipment by short-circuiting an excessive voltage

   The power supply's crowbar prevented the voltage surge from reaching the control board.

Formed from crow + bar. Crow had an older tool sense referring to an iron lever, probably because a forked or curved end resembled a crow's foot or beak; crowbar made the object's bar-like form explicit.

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