engine
Americannoun
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a machine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy or power to produce force and motion.
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a railroad locomotive.
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a fire engine.
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Computers. a piece or collection of software that drives a later process (used in combination, as in ).
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any mechanical contrivance.
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a machine or instrument used in warfare, as a battering ram, catapult, or piece of artillery.
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a means by which something is achieved, accomplished, or furthered.
Trade is an engine of growth that creates jobs, reduces poverty, and increases economic opportunity.
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Obsolete. an instrument of torture, especially the rack.
noun
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any machine designed to convert energy, esp heat energy, into mechanical work
a steam engine
a petrol engine
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a railway locomotive
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( as modifier )
the engine cab
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military any of various pieces of equipment formerly used in warfare, such as a battering ram or gun
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obsolete any instrument or device
engines of torture
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A machine that turns energy into mechanical force or motion, especially one that gets its energy from a source of heat, such as the burning of a fuel. The efficiency of an engine is the ratio between the kinetic energy produced by the machine and the energy needed to produce it.
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See more at internal-combustion engine steam engine See also motor
Other Word Forms
- engineless adjective
- multiengine noun
Etymology
Origin of engine
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English engin, from Anglo-French, Old French engign, enging, from Latin ingenium “nature, innate quality, mental power, clever invention,” equivalent to in- “in” + -genium (equivalent to gen- “begetting” + -ium noun suffix); in- 2, kin, -ium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There were two key talking points at the first of two pre-season tests in Bahrain - whether the new cars were still "Formula 1", and the performance of the new Red Bull engine.
From BBC
The lawsuit reflects growing concern about high prices and shortages of fire engines and parts in a market that is heavily concentrated among the largest players.
Also read: The ‘golden age’ of airplane engines is just getting started.
From MarketWatch
Forecasts for deeper engine repairs and overhauls by airlines trying to keep older planes flying amid a shortage also bode well for aftermarket sales of those companies, said the analysts.
From MarketWatch
And when the fire broke out the morning of Jan. 7, the initial dispatch called for only seven engine companies, when the weather conditions required 27.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
