radial engine

American  

noun

Aeronautics.

1. an internal-combustion engine having the cylinders arranged in radial opposition, found mainly on older aircraft.

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radial engine British  

noun

1. an internal-combustion engine having a number of cylinders arranged about a central crankcase

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Etymology

Origin of radial engine

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

While American engine builders have plugged away for years on the development of the air-cooled radial engine, now close to perfection, German designers have worked at the liquid-cooled, in-line power plant.

From Time Magazine Archive

Stearman-�3-seat open cockpit biplane; wings unequal; strutted to fuselage; fuselage slim; sharp curves on tail units; radial engine; split axled wheels close to body.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tail propellers were reduced to one, a seven-cylinder Warner radial engine was installed, the body was decently covered, slicked with windshield and windows.

From Time Magazine Archive

Its big radial engine is cowled to cut its head resistance to the irreducible minimum.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is not as interesting as a radial engine.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein