turbo

¹ American

[tur-boh] / ˈtɜr boʊ /

noun

plural

turbos

turbine.
Informal. turbocharger.
an automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine equipped with a turbocharger.

turbo- ² American

a combining form representing turbine in compound words.

turbojet.

turbo- British

combining form

of, relating to, or driven by a turbine

turbofan

"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

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

turb(ine) + -o-

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.

A friend’s parent calls him “Turbo,” and he was doing all kinds of turbo things when the cameras caught him in the act.

From Los Angeles Times

Ferrari are believed to have a smaller turbo than the other manufacturers.

From BBC

Starts are much more difficult this year because it is much harder to get the turbo spinning at the optimum speed.

From BBC

So the turbo has to be spooled up manually, by running the engine against the MGU-K on the grid - hence the extra time that has been added before the light process to allow the drivers to rev up their engines.

From BBC

A smaller turbo has less ultimate performance at high rpm.

From BBC

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