A connecting rod is a shaft which connects a piston to a crank or crankshaft in a reciprocating engine. Together with the crank, it forms a simple mechanism that converts reciprocating motion into rotating motion.
A connecting rod may also convert rotating motion into reciprocating motion, its original use.Earlier mechanisms, such as the chain, could only impart pulling motion. Being rigid, a connecting rod may transmit either push or pull, allowing the rod to rotate the crank through both halves of a revolution. In a few two-stroke engines the connecting rod is only required to push.