afterburning

American

[af-ter-bur-ning, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌbɜr nɪŋ, ˈɑf- /

noun

Aeronautics. combustion in an afterburner that results from the injection of fuel into the exhaust gases of a jet engine to produce additional thrust with more efficient fuel consumption.
Rocketry. an irregular burning of residual fuel in some rocket motors after the cessation of the main burning.

afterburning British

/ ˈɑːftəˌbɜːnɪŋ /

noun

Also called: reheat. a process in which additional fuel is ignited in the exhaust gases of a jet engine to produce additional thrust
irregular burning of fuel in a rocket motor after the main burning has ceased
persistence of combustion in an internal-combustion engine, either in an incorrect part of the cycle or after the ignition has been switched off

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of afterburning

1885–90; after + burning, translation of German Nachbrennen

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.

The two-man, 1,650-m.p.h. plane is equipped with the world's first afterburning turbofan engines, has a revolutionary swing-wing�the sort envisioned in one of the designs for the nation's first commercial supersonic transport.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023