internal-combustion engine

American  

noun

1. an engine of one or more working cylinders in which the process of combustion takes place within the cylinders.

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internal-combustion engine British  

noun

1. a heat engine in which heat is supplied by burning the fuel in the working fluid (usually air)

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internal-combustion engine Scientific  

/ ĭn-tûr′nəl-kəm-bŭs′chən /

1. An engine whose fuel is burned inside the engine itself rather than in an outside furnace or burner. Gasoline and diesel engines are internal-combustion engines, as are gas turbine engines such as turbojets.

2. Compare steam engine

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internal-combustion engine Cultural  

1. Any engine powered by burning fuel inside it (for example, a standard automobile engine). Internal-combustion engines normally burn fossil fuels and therefore are a major source of air pollution. (See smog.)

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Etymology

Origin of internal-combustion engine

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Sebastian C. Schulte took over as chief executive at Deutz, the 162-year-old pioneer of the internal-combustion engine, around two weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

That would make it impossible to sell internal-combustion engine cars.

From Reuters • Jun. 29, 2022

Some automakers have added artificial sounds to account for the absence of a growling internal-combustion engine — but Maserati said it won’t go that same route.

From The Verge • Mar. 17, 2022

The thyroid is like the carburetor in an old internal-combustion engine.

From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2021

At length, however, the internal-combustion engine, such as is used in motor-cars, arrived, and it became at last possible to solve the great problem of constructing a really-serviceable, steerable balloon.

From The Mastery of the Air by Claxton, William J.