carburetor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of carburetor
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."
Vocabulary lists containing carburetor
Automobiles
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 4
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Fish in a Tree
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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.
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
While he was flying his Farman, the line feeding fuel to the carburetor broke.
From Washington Post • Dec. 31, 2022
May the odds be ever in your carburetor.
From The Verge • Apr. 21, 2022
Other models may also have a carburetor, or a “carb.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2022
Chucha and I will pass by the carport and overhear them discussing the carburetor and brake pads, points and plugs.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
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.
