stationary engine

American  

noun

1. an engine mounted in a fixed position, as one used for driving generators, compressors, etc.

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stationary engine British  

noun

1. an engine that remains in a fixed position, esp one in a building that drives generators or other machinery

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Other Word Forms

• stationary engineer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of stationary engine

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stationary engine

In 1880 Vacuum was absorbed by Standard Oil and developed rapidly when lubricating oil was needed for the stationary engine, the automobile, and finally the electric generator, motor and transformer and the steam turbine.

From Time Magazine Archive

His father worked for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Coal Co., first running the stationary engine in the shaft, then working on a company-owned farm.

From Time Magazine Archive

The principal use of the stationary engine is confined to the driving of electric generators and the furnishing of motive power in shops and factories.

From Steam Engines Machinery's Reference Series, Number 70 by Anonymous

The bellows principle of increasing the furnace draft might have been harmless in a stationary engine.

From Ralph on the Overland Express The Trials and Triumphs of a Young Engineer by Chapman, Allen

In the United States, Oliver Evans had introduced the non-condensing high-pressure stationary engine, which was the progenitor of the standard engine of that type which is now used far more generally than any other form.

From A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine by Thurston, Robert H.