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internal-combustion engine
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noun
an engine of one or more working cylinders in which the process of combustion takes place within the cylinders.
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Origin of internal-combustion engine
First recorded in 1880â85
Words nearby internal-combustion engine
internal, internal audit, internal auditory meatus, internal clock, internal-combustion, internal-combustion engine, internal conflict, internal conversion, internal ear, internal energy, internal exile
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use internal-combustion engine in a sentence
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
Scientific definitions for internal-combustion engine
internal-combustion engine
[ Än-tĂ»râČnÉl-kÉm-bĆsâČchÉn ]
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.
The American HeritageÂź Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural 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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.