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• steam engine
  steam engine

  noun

  an engine worked by steam, typically one in which a sliding piston in a cylinder is moved by the expansive action of the steam generated in a boiler.
• steam-engine
  steam-engine

  noun

  an engine that uses the thermal energy of steam to produce mechanical work, esp one in which steam from a boiler is expanded in a cylinder to drive a reciprocating piston

steam engine

American  

noun

steam engines plural

1. an engine worked by steam, typically one in which a sliding piston in a cylinder is moved by the expansive action of the steam generated in a boiler.

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steam-engine British  

noun

1. an engine that uses the thermal energy of steam to produce mechanical work, esp one in which steam from a boiler is expanded in a cylinder to drive a reciprocating piston

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steam engine Scientific  

1. An engine in which the energy of hot steam is converted into mechanical power, especially an engine in which the force of expanding steam is used to drive one or more pistons. The source of the steam is typically external to the part of the machine that converts the steam energy into mechanical energy.

2. Compare internal-combustion engine

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• steam-engine
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• steam engines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of steam engine

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

steam engine steam-engine

We watched him operate a vintage letterpress, the mechanisms whirring and clanking like a steam engine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

The seemingly limitless power of the steam engine helped change that view, making fortunes in mining, metallurgy, brewing, and, especially, textiles.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

The whistle of a train interrupts the tourist chatter, and a steam engine pulling a long line of freight carriages slowly chugs across the railway bridge from Russia to North Korea.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024

Once they arrived, inventions like the steam engine and indoor plumbing likely helped the insects travel further and get cozy living indoors, where they are most commonly found today.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2024

The key closed an electric circuit that activated the Electro-Automatic Engine Stop and Starter attached to the giant three-thousand-horsepower Allis steam engine at the Machinery Building.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

But trains continued to run by switching from electric power to steam-engine power, which had been readied as a backup.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 16, 2022

When the mine was in use, this shaft contained a pipe and miners employed steam-engine power to pump water out of the tunnels.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 17, 2018

Mr. Wendel is a tenor saxophonist of cool, even tone and steam-engine momentum.

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2018

Here, that’s all gone, with loads of original digital texture in its place — repetitive steam-engine tones, electronic pops and hisses, watery chimes.

From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2010

During these years he engaged in a number of different steam-engine experiments, the high point of which was the construction of a steam-powered carriage which ran around the floor of his parlour.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton