internal-combustion engine

noun

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

Nearby words

internal thoracic vein, internal traction, internal urethral opening, internal version, internal-combustion, internal-combustion engine, internalize, internasal suture, internat., international, international association of lions clubs

Origin of internal-combustion engine

First recorded in 1880–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for internal-combustion engine

They export to some of these internal-combustion-engine sectors, like Europo-American.
Temple Trouble|Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for internal-combustion engine

internal-combustion engine

noun

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

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

Science definitions for internal-combustion engine

internal-combustion engine

[ ĭn-tûr′nəl-kəm-bŭs′chən ]

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. Compare steam engine.

Culture definitions for internal-combustion engine

internal-combustion engine

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.)