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turbine

American  
[tur-bin, -bahyn] / ˈtɜr bɪn, -baɪn /

noun

  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.

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

"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
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

Etymology

Origin of turbine

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The design work in Port Talbot is the first stage in creating the infrastructure needed to handle, assemble and launch giant floating turbine platforms.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Sure, the plant uses fossil fuel, and it includes a steam turbine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

"In the beginning, it was a shipyard. We built a good dozen ships a year. Now we build dozens of wind turbine towers. It's quite different," she said.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

For eight hours, the 65-year-old displaces tonnes of steel that will become ship hulls and wind turbine components.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

There was a radar tower, wind turbine, antennae, and various other weather instruments.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.