heat engine

American

noun

Thermodynamics.

a mechanical device designed to transform part of the heat entering it into work.

heat engine British

noun

an engine that converts heat energy into mechanical energy

"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

Etymology

Origin of heat engine

First recorded in 1890–95

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:

heat engine

The researchers have now created the world's first superconducting quantum heat engine.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

The researchers are now trying to improve the design and eventually develop a fully autonomous heat engine.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

“You can think of a hurricane as a heat engine where the ocean is the fuel … so giving it warmer water is basically like higher-octane fuel,” Hazelton said.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2023

Such a device is called a heat engine.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

A gas engine is a heat engine in which the working fluid is atmospheric air and the fuel an inflammable gas.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

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