Stirling engine

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noun

an external-combustion engine in which heat from outside the cylinders causes air confined in the cylinders to expand and drive the pistons.

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Origin of Stirling engine

1895–1900; after Robert Stirling (died 1878), Scottish engineer

Words nearby Stirling engine

stir-crazy, stir-fried, stir-fry, stirk, Stirling, Stirling engine, Stirling's formula, Stirlingshire, stirp, stirpiculture, stirps

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Stirling engine in a sentence

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.
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Texas has also started to become an engine of economic growth.
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Clearly, the least cool people are the most in-demand: the rich folks who power the Art Basel engine.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art|Jay Michaelson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Over 250 were killed before Stirling ordered the final retreat and surrendered himself to the British.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site|Justin Jones|December 6, 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
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
The huge engine, the wonderful carriages, the imposing guard, the busy porters and the bustling station.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
He hired an engine to plow all his land that was not prepared, besides renting a little more, and also took a flier in wheat.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for Stirling engine

Stirling engine

noun

an external-combustion engine that uses air or an inert gas as the working fluid operating on a highly efficient thermodynamic cycle (the Stirling cycle)

Word Origin for Stirling engine

named after Robert Stirling (1790–1878), Scottish minister who invented it

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