reaction engine

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noun Aeronautics, Rocketry.

an engine that produces power as a reaction to the momentum given to gases ejected from it, as a rocket or jet engine.

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Also called reaction motor.

Origin of reaction engine

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby reaction engine

reactance, reactant, reaction, reactionary, reaction chamber, reaction engine, reaction formation, reaction time, reaction turbine, reactivate, reactive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reaction engine in a sentence

We haven't had any real fan reaction yet, but our collective fingers are crossed.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Or how kicking a reaction-less eunuch in the crotch over and over again is comedy.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The jet engine instantly brought two advances over propellers: it doubled the speed and it was far more reliable.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
An F-35 was destroyed on takeoff earlier in the year when a design flaw in its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sparked a fire.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Your general reaction runs along the lines of: “When will these geezers give it up and go for a mall walk or something?”
The World’s Toughest Political Quiz|Jeff Greenfield|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was only the engine drawing the train of cars up to the station to take the passengers away.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
“Mon pauvre petit, you are hungry,” said Aristide, carrying it to the car racked by the clattering engine.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
While this reaction lasted he laughed away the evidence, and honestly believed he was exaggerating trifles.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Ordinarily the diazo appears a little earlier than the Widal reaction—about the fourth or fifth day—but it may be delayed.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Adjoining the engine-house on the other side, is the stable, where five splendid horses are kept.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

British Dictionary definitions for reaction engine

reaction engine

reaction motor

noun

an engine, such as a jet or rocket engine, that ejects gas at high velocity and develops its thrust from the ensuing reaction

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

reaction engine

Origin of reaction engine

Words nearby reaction engine

Words related to reaction engine

How to use reaction engine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reaction engine

reaction motor