carburetor

American  

[kahr-buh-rey-ter, -byuh-] / ˈkɑr bəˌreɪ tər, -bjə- /

especially British, carburator,

noun

• carburetors
  plural

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• carburetors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of carburetor

First recorded in 1860–65; carburet + -or ²

Explanation

A carburetor is the part of a car's engine that combines gas vapors and air in a way that keeps things running. Many vehicles, including some small airplanes, have carburetors. Newer cars, which tend to have fuel injected engines, no longer have carburetors, but there are still plenty of cars and trucks on the road that do. An engine with a carburetor is called an internal combustion engine, and it relies on the carburetor to mix fuel and air in the right proportion. The word itself comes from the now-obsolete carburet, "combine or charge with a hydrocarbon."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carburetor carburetors

One memory stood out among the others: Watching Dale Earnhardt tinker with his carburetor under the hood of his car.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 17, 2023

A good catcher is the quarterback, the carburetor, the lead dog, the pulse taker, the traffic cop and sometimes a lot of unprintable things, but no team gets very far without one.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2023

He collects parcels and mail on request, and shops for the spare carburetor and shocks that someone needs at home.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 28, 2022

May the odds be ever in your carburetor.

From The Verge ● Apr. 21, 2022

And the next thing you know, she’s out there in the driveway squinting down at a carburetor or something like it was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

“They used to be building carburetors, but you won’t be doing that much anymore with electric vehicles, but we are going to have to build an awful lot of vehicle batteries,” he said.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 14, 2022

The single carburetor and intake manifold that Henry Ford had specified for his engine were replaced with two carburetors on an aftermarket-supplied intake manifold that is an exact reproduction of those available in the 1930s.

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021

"From greasy carburetors to plants in the same space," Resnick observes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2018

These are very commonly used in carburetors and aspirators.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Then Uncle Hermilio asked Lucky about his car, and Lucky started talking about valves and piston rings and carburetors.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty