turbo
noun
turbo
1 American
[tur-boh]
/ ˈtɜr boʊ /
noun
-
turbos
plural
-
Informal. turbocharger.
-
an automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine equipped with a turbocharger.
turbo-
2
American
turbo-
British
combining form
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of turbo1
1655–65, in sense “tornado”; 1900–05 turbo for def. 1; in part < Latin turbō top, whirlwind, in part by shortening of turbocharged ( def. ) or turbocharger
Origin of turbo-2
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.
See Examples For:
With most powertrains, the intermittency of stop-start cycling is no great loss—it’s not like I’m missing the sweaty chatter of the average turbo four.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
The turbo in-line six-cylinder engine was fine and all but, one customer complained, “it sounded like you were driving a Honda.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
A turbo engine is not only arguably more road-relevant, but is also more efficient than a naturally aspirated one, which means less fuel, even if turbos and their associated architecture are heavy and complicated.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Sources say that stakeholders are open to discussing both a reduction in the amount of electrification and a change to the internal combustion engine, which is currently a 1.6-litre V6 turbo.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
That’s when I knew, Okay, she’s in turbo mode now.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
In June, Ford sold more F-150 pickups with its turbo- charged V-6 than those with V-8 engines for the first time since the 1980s.
From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 31, 2011
Henry Zoelly, a Swiss engineer, declared that the steam locomotive is lag ging "pitifully" in scientific progress and foresaw the development of a turbo- locomotive.
From Time Magazine Archive
Throw in a flat-plane crankshaft, low-inertia turbos and equal-length exhaust runners and you’ve got a hurricane on a dimmer switch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
But the formula still needs to be attractive to manufacturers, and most performance road cars these days have turbos.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
But these were largely assuaged by a new start line procedure that was trialled at the test, which gives the drivers more time to get the turbos spinning at the optimum speed.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
No replacement for displacement, sure, but the lovely thing about turbos is how easily you can modify them to increase engine power and even improve fuel economy.
From The Verge ● May 3, 2022
The door was closed, and the Terrans braced themselves under the low roof as the engine started up with a whine of worn turbos.
From The Yillian Way by Keith Laumer
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