| diesel engine |
a type of engine that burns fuel oil. Diesel engines are different from most car engines, which use an electric spark to ignite the fuel. In a diesel engine, the fuel is sprayed into a chamber and set on fire by the heat of air that has been put under high pressure. Big trucks have diesel engines. |
| engine house |
a building in which large engines, such as fire engines or locomotives, are kept when not in use. |
| external-combustion engine |
an engine in which the combustion of fuel occurs outside the cylinder or turbine, as in a steam engine. |
| fire engine |
a large truck that carries firefighters and their tools to a fire. Fire engines usually have a ladder and a pump for spraying water or chemicals used to put out fires. |
| internal-combustion engine |
an engine, esp. an automobile engine, that is powered by the heat and pressure produced by the burning of a mixture of fuel and air in a cylinder or cylinders. |
| jet engine |
an engine that causes forward movement by the power of a stream of gases being forced out under pressure in the opposite direction. Jet engines are often used in aircraft. |
| pulsejet engine |
a jet engine in which the pulsating thrust is provided by intermittent combustion produced by rapid opening and closing of the air intake valves. |
| radial engine |
an internal combustion engine in which the cylinders are arranged around a central shaft, formerly used to power propeller-driven aircraft. |
| Rankine-cycle engine |
a type of steam engine in which the water that is evaporated into steam is condensed and recycled, developed experimentally as a pollution-reducing alternative to the internal combustion engine. |
| reaction engine |
an engine, such as a rocket or jet engine, that develops forward thrust by the rearward expulsion of matter, esp. ignited fuel gases. |
| reciprocating engine |
an engine in which the back-and-forth motion of the pistons turns the crankshaft. |
| rotary engine |
an engine in which rotation is produced by supplying power directly to the rotary parts, such as a turbine. [2 definitions] |
| search engine |
a software program that searches a database or network, esp. the Internet, for data, files, or documents containing terms specified by the user. |
| steam engine |
an engine which uses steam to supply energy to its mechanical parts. |
| Stirling engine |
an external-combustion engine in which the fuel ignited outside the cylinder releases heat that is transferred into the cylinder to a pressurized gas, which moves the pistons. |
| twin-engine |
powered by two engines, as an airplane. |
| V-type engine |
an automobile engine in which the cylinders are lined up in two rows that are set at an angle to each other, forming a V. |
| Wankel engine |
an internal combustion engine that features a triangular rotor revolving in a chamber, and that requires fewer moving parts and is lighter and less efficient than a piston-driven engine. |