heat engine

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

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

---

heat engine British  

noun

1. an engine that converts heat energy into mechanical energy

---

Etymology

Origin of heat engine

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heat engine

Researchers at Aalto University have now taken an important step by demonstrating the first cyclic quantum heat engine built inside a superconducting circuit.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

What each one should consume is eminently individual, depending altogether on the sort of heat engine that each one is.

From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh