carburetor

[ kahr-buh-rey-ter, -byuh- ]

/ ˈkɑr bəˌreɪ tər, -byə- /

noun

a device for mixing vaporized fuel with air to produce a combustible or explosive mixture, as for an internal-combustion engine.

Nearby words

Also car·bu·ra·tor, car·bu·ret·er; especially British, car·bu·ret·tor, car·bu·ret·ter

[kahr-byuh-ret-er] /ˈkɑr byəˌrɛt ər/.

Origin of carburetor

First recorded in 1860–65; carburet + -or²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carburetor

First look over the ignition system and spark plug for trouble, and also make sure that the carburetor is receiving fuel.
The Automobile Storage Battery|O. A. Witte
The problem of gasoline storage and method of supplying the carburetor is one that is determined solely by design of the airplane.
Aviation Engines|Victor Wilfred Pag
A carburetor, or atomizer, blows the oil into a fine mist almost as inflammable as gas.
Inventors at Work|George Iles
Two punctures befell us; once our carburetor betrayed the trust we placed in it.
The Firefly Of France|Marion Polk Angellotti

"Carburetor trouble," explained the soiled young man at the wheel briefly, without apology.
The Vagrant Duke|George Gibbs

Word Origin and History for carburetor

carburetor

device to enhance a gas flame, 1866, from carburet "compound of carbon and another substance" (1795, now displaced by carbide), also used as a verb, "to combine with carbon" (1802); from carb-, comb. form of carbon, + -uret, an archaic suffix formed from Modern Latin -uretum to parallel French words in -ure. Motor vehicle sense is from 1896.