engine
Americannoun
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engines
plural
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a machine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy or power to produce force and motion.
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a railroad locomotive.
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a fire engine.
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Computers. a piece or collection of software that drives a later process (used in combination, as in ).
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any mechanical contrivance.
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a machine or instrument used in warfare, as a battering ram, catapult, or piece of artillery.
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a means by which something is achieved, accomplished, or furthered.
Trade is an engine of growth that creates jobs, reduces poverty, and increases economic opportunity.
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Obsolete. an instrument of torture, especially the rack.
noun
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any machine designed to convert energy, esp heat energy, into mechanical work
a steam engine
a petrol engine
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a railway locomotive
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( as modifier )
the engine cab
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military any of various pieces of equipment formerly used in warfare, such as a battering ram or gun
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obsolete any instrument or device
engines of torture
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A machine that turns energy into mechanical force or motion, especially one that gets its energy from a source of heat, such as the burning of a fuel. The efficiency of an engine is the ratio between the kinetic energy produced by the machine and the energy needed to produce it.
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See more at internal-combustion engine steam engine See also motor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of engine
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English engin, from Anglo-French, Old French engign, enging, from Latin ingenium “nature, innate quality, mental power, clever invention,” equivalent to in- “in” + -genium (equivalent to gen- “begetting” + -ium noun suffix); see in- 2, kin, -ium
Explanation
An engine is a machine that burns fuel to make something move. The engine in a car is the motor that makes it go. Engines power vehicles including cars, trains, airplanes, and boats. While these engines tend to be powered by fuel that's burned, other engines get their power from electricity, which they convert to mechanical energy — fans, power tools, and small appliances all commonly have electric engines. Figuratively, you can also use the word engine to mean "something that's used to bring about a specific result." In your state, for example, tourism might be the main engine of job growth.
Vocabulary lists containing engine
Engineering - Introductory
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Mechanical Engineering
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Engineering - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
The engine, which has existed for more than two decades, got an upgrade in 2021 to its current iteration, Unreal Engine 5.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Those developments have unleashed concerns in this Rhine River city, where Opel was once the mighty engine of prosperity.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The father told authorities that rough waves had struck the jet ski and caused the engine to stop towards the end of the rental period, the Bangkok Post reports.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Through the 2010s, Google was working on machine-learning solutions to improve the accuracy of its search engine.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Mr. Palmer turned off the engine but the car kept moving, swaying from side to side and rocking from back to front at the same time.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
A number of aircraft and 50 fire engines have been deployed to the blaze.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Ram automaker added more powerful engines to its pickups, but there was one big problem: they didn’t sound the same.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Wind-driven flames and dry hydrants drew engines from across the region, leaving first responders stretched thin when the Eaton fire exploded above Altadena hours later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Otto cycle is a thermodynamic process also used in car engines and other conventional machines.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The jet engines roared and the cabin bounced as they picked up speed, and the moment they felt themselves lifted into the air, the men cheered and slapped each other on the back.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
