turbine

American  

[tur-bin, -bahyn] / ˈtɜr bɪn, -baɪn /

noun

• turbines
  plural

1. any of various machines having a rotor, usually with vanes or blades, driven by the pressure, momentum, or reactive thrust of a moving fluid, as steam, water, hot gases, or air, either occurring in the form of free jets or as a fluid passing through and entirely filling a housing around the rotor.

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turbine British  

/ ˈtɜːbɪn, -baɪn /

noun

1. any of various types of machine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate. The moving fluid may be water, steam, air, or combustion products of a fuel See also reaction turbine impulse turbine gas turbine

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turbine Scientific  

/ tûr′bĭn,-bīn′ /

1. Any of various machines in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid, such as water, steam, or gas, is converted to rotary motion. Turbines are used in boat propulsion systems, hydroelectric power generators, and jet aircraft engines.

2. See also gas turbine

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• turbines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of turbine

1815–25; < French < Latin turbin-, stem of turbō something that spins, e.g., top, spindle, whirlwind; akin to turbid

Explanation

A turbine is a device used to generate energy as a flowing liquid causes a bladed rotor to move around. A water wheel is a turbine. There are many ways we get energy, such as fossil fuels and solar power. Another is a gadget called a turbine. A turbine uses the power of water (or another liquid) to move a wheel, generating energy. A windmill is also an example of a turbine, though it uses wind instead of liquid. Other turbines use gas or steam to generate energy. Ever since the 1800s, engineers have used many sorts of turbines to help satisfy our ever-increasing energy needs.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

turbine turbines

In Frankfurt, the German DAX gained 0.3%, with Siemens Energy rising 1.8% after a Bloomberg report said the group might sell part of its steam turbine business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Paddy made the hull out of the mast from a scrap wind turbine before welding a bow and a stern on and then adding an engine.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Ming Yang has described the UK government's decision - on what would have been the UK's largest wind turbine factory - as a "significant missed opportunity", saying it could have supported up to 1,500 jobs.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Connecting the combustion chamber to a turbine and converting its intense combustion into electricity created an additional engineering challenge.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

He imagined her as, say, Mrs. Cobb, swooping out from behind her picket fence with eyes aflame, calling down the turbine perflant upon a minister’s son who threw rocks.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Huggins added that its long-term vision included solar panels, wind turbines and habitat networks for the wildlife, which he expected would take years to be fully completed.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Each arm can be tailored to a factory's needs to help build cars, electronics or wind turbines.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

The world's second-largest economy also has an economic interest as the leading exporter of green technologies, including solar panels, electric vehicles, wind turbines and batteries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

The report also said that cracks had formed at gas-fired turbines powering xAI’s Colossus data center in Memphis, Tenn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

“Sorry,” I yelled to Beck above the scream of the chopper’s turbines.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

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