Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

ramjet

[ram-jet]
See more synonyms for ramjet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a jet engine operated by the injection of fuel into a stream of air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft.
Show More

Origin of ramjet

First recorded in 1940–45; ram1 + jet1
Also called ramjet engine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ramjet

Historical Examples

  • A bunch of Australian bushmen stumbling onto a ramjet and trying to figure out how it works.

    Masters of Space

    Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for ramjet

ramjet

ramjet engine

noun
    1. a type of jet engine in which fuel is burned in a duct using air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft
    2. an aircraft powered by such an engine
    Also called: athodyd
Show More
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

Word Origin and History for ramjet

n.

1942, from ram (v.) + jet (n.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ramjet in Science

ramjet

[răm′jĕt′]
  1. A cylindrical jet propulsion engine consisting of air intake and combustion chambers into which burning fuel is injected, forcing hot air out of the rear of the engine at high pressures to provide forward thrust. See Note at turbojet.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.