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

The cheapest EVs like the Leaf now sell for under $30,000, although small internal-combustion engine cars are cheaper, at about $21,000 for the Nissan Sentra in the U.S.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2023

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

It is interesting to notice that the efficiency of an internal-combustion engine depends so largely on the good fit of these moving parts, that cylinders, pistons, and rings must be exceedingly true.

From How it Works Dealing in simple language with steam, electricity, light, heat, sound, hydraulics, optics, etc., and with their applications to apparatus in common use by Williams, Archibald