Parts of a Spigot (Hose Bib)

An outdoor faucet on a wall, then cut through to show the stem, the washer and the valve seat.

Parts of a Spigot (Hose Bib)

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Handle
  2. Threaded spout
  3. Vacuum breaker
  4. Packing nut
  5. Packing
  6. Stem
  7. Washer
  8. Stem screw
  9. Valve seat

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: an indoor faucet cut open

All 9 parts on the diagram

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Outside 3

  1. Handle Turning it screws the stem down or up. Down closes the faucet and up opens it.
  2. Threaded spout The thread lets a garden hose be screwed on.
  3. Vacuum breaker Stops water in the hose being siphoned back into the water supply.

Inside 6

  1. Packing nut Tightened down, it presses the packing against the stem.
  2. Packing A soft washer or string. It keeps water from leaking out along the stem.
  3. Stem Its thread turns in the body. That moves it down or up as the handle turns. Also called the spindle.
  4. Washer Screwed down onto the valve seat, it stops the flow of water.
  5. Stem screw It holds the washer to the end of the stem.
  6. Valve seat The water comes up through its opening when the faucet is open.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it or describe the part. US Navy, Utilitiesman 3 and 2, rate training manual (1973), full text on archive.org (https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED097442), the cut-away compression faucet and the hose bibb faucet. Two home repair books from one publisher, read as passages through archive.org's full-text search and counted once: The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair (2008) (https://archive.org/details/completephotogui0000unse_c1x7) and Plumbing Essentials (1996) (https://archive.org/details/plumbingessentia00blac). Wikipedia, Tap (valve) and Vacuum breaker. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; a schematic of no maker's faucet, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A spigot, also called a hose bib or sillcock, is an outdoor faucet with a threaded spout for a garden hose. The first drawing shows one on a wall. The second cuts it through to show the stem, the washer and the valve seat.

Read the full guide

On the wall, then cut through

Numbers 1 to 3 are on the outside: the handle, the threaded spout and a vacuum breaker, drawn just below the spout it screws onto. Numbers 4 to 9 are inside. The handle turns the stem, which screws down through the body. The washer on its end, held by the stem screw, closes on the valve seat and stops the water. Higher up, the packing seals the stem where it leaves the body, and the packing nut holds the packing in.

  • The parts of a hose bib are those of any compression faucet; only the threaded spout is different.
  • Names vary: the stem is also the spindle, and the washer is a seat washer in one book and a stem washer in another.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a spigot called?

Outside: the handle, the body and the threaded spout, often with a vacuum breaker on the spout. Inside: the packing nut, the packing, the stem, the washer, the stem screw and the valve seat.

What is the difference between a spigot and a hose bib?

They are names for the same outdoor faucet. Spigot, hose bib, sillcock and hose hydrant are all in use; sillcock refers to a faucet that passes through the sill of a house.

What does the vacuum breaker on a hose bib do?

It keeps water in a hose from being siphoned back into the water supply. It lets air in, which breaks the siphon.

What stops the water in a spigot?

A soft washer on the end of the stem. Turning the handle screws the stem down until the washer presses on the valve seat.

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