What Is PSI?

Woman Checking Tyre Pressure On Car
Ian Lishman / Getty Images
by Christine & Scott Gable
Updated October 21, 2017

The acronym PSI stands for "Pounds per Square Inch," and is the common unit of measurement for pressure.

It can be understood as the amount of force that is exerted on an area of one square inch.

Normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 PSI.

Pronunciation: Pronounce each letter individually: P - S - I.

Example: Normal tire pressure is usually about 32 PSI.

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Gable, Christine & Scott. "What Is PSI?" ThoughtCo, Oct. 21, 2017, thoughtco.com/what-is-psi-85379. Gable, Christine & Scott. (2017, October 21). What Is PSI? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-psi-85379 Gable, Christine & Scott. "What Is PSI?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-psi-85379 (accessed April 25, 2018).