glow plug

American

noun

Automotive, Machinery.

a device for each cylinder of a diesel engine with a heating element to heat the incoming fuel and air so that combustion will take place more readily when the engine is cold.

glow plug British

noun

Also called: heater plug. one of usually four plugs fitted to the cylinder block of a diesel engine that warms the engine chamber to facilitate starting in cold weather

"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

Other Word Forms

glow-plug

adjective

Etymology

Origin of glow plug

First recorded in 1940–45

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.

Finally, it devised a still not entirely satisfactory solution: a platinum glow plug "pilot light" that automatically relights an engine if it goes out.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Olds diesel has a block heater and a "prechamber," where the mixture is briefly heated by a glow plug.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023