turbine

[ tur-bin, -bahyn ]

/ ˈtɜr bɪn, -baɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR turbine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

Nearby words

turbidite, turbidity current, turbinal, turbinate, turbinate bone, turbine, turbine blade, turbine ventilator, turbinectomy, turbinotomy, turbit

Compare impulse turbine, reaction turbine.

Origin of turbine

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for turbine

Unfortunately for Crist, it will likely take a turbine engine to generate enough wind in his flagging sails to overtake Rubio.
Charlie Crist's Last Gasp|Jim DeFede|October 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Ninety four percent of all daily commerce takes place because diesel and turbine engines deliver the goods.
Get Over the Oil Spill|John Hofmeister|June 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The turbine, on the other hand, has its only working part enclosed.
The Romance of War Inventions|Thomas W. Corbin
The example chosen for illustration has suction pipes, which permit the turbine to be placed above the tail-water level.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 1|Various

The mill is four stories high and is furnished with a turbine wheel.
Fifty Years In The Northwest|William Henry Carman Folsom
The screen on the governor valve in the turbine may be clogged.
The Traveling Engineers' Association|Anonymous
Visi que sunt dracones ignei et maligni spiritus in turbine volitare.
A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for turbine

turbine

/ (ˈtɜːbɪn, -baɪn) /

noun

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 fuelSee also reaction turbine, impulse turbine, gas turbine

Word Origin for turbine

C19: from French, from Latin turbō whirlwind, from turbāre to throw into confusion

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

Science definitions for turbine

turbine

[ tûr′bĭn, -bīn′ ]

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. See also gas turbine.