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combustion chamber

American  

noun

Machinery.
  1. a chamber, as in an engine or boiler, where combustion occurs.


combustion chamber British  

noun

  1. an enclosed space in which combustion takes place, such as the space above the piston in the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine or the chambers in a gas turbine or rocket engine in which fuel and oxidant burn

"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

combustion chamber Scientific  
  1. An enclosure in which combustion, especially of a fuel or propellant, is initiated and controlled.

  2. See also internal-combustion engine


Etymology

Origin of combustion chamber

First recorded in 1850–55

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 need for cooling meant redesigning the combustion chamber itself, and incorporating a new air-to-water heat exchanger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

“Interstellar Technologies Inc. recently performed a combustion chamber static fire test at Japan’s Hokkaido Spaceport as part of the development of the Cosmos engine for its Zero rocket,” the report said.

From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2023

Engineers are “implementing corrective actions, including design changes to the combustion chamber and operating parameters,” the statement said.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

“It’s a combustion chamber of trauma — that’s what Memphis is,” said Mr. Franklin, 36.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2023

The fire box or combustion chamber being taper increases the effectiveness of its sides as heating surface, since the heat in its vertical passage impinges against it.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua