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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

The steam engine, assembly line and personal computer displaced jobs while giving life to industries no committee could foresee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

The first venture capitalists were wealthy individuals like Brown and Englishman Matthew Boulton—who subsidized James Watt’s steam engine in Great Britain—and scions of wealthy dynasties like the Rockefellers in the U.S.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

He highlighted an example from history - James Watt is synonymous with the steam engine, even though he improved it rather than invented it.

From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025

It sat next to a steam engine dubbed “Old Dinah” that eventually replaced the mule teams.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024

He followed her, staggered a little on landing, then straightened up in time to see the gleaming scarlet steam engine pick up speed, round the corner, and disappear from view.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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

Earlier this month he released “On My Way to You,” a collection of originals and standards, many of them pumped with extra muscle and steam-engine momentum, performed with a trio.

From New York Times ● Jun. 28, 2018

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

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2018

There another steam-engine pump lifted the water into huge wood reservoirs, from where it was fed by gravity to households and businesses around the city.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy