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View synonyms for

engine

[ en-juhn ]

noun

  1. a machine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy or power to produce force and motion.
  2. a railroad locomotive.
  3. Computers. a piece or collection of software that drives a later process (used in combination, as in game engine software engine ). search engine.
  4. any mechanical contrivance.
  5. a machine or instrument used in warfare, as a battering ram, catapult, or piece of artillery.
  6. a means by which something is achieved, accomplished, or furthered:

    Trade is an engine of growth that creates jobs, reduces poverty, and increases economic opportunity.

  7. Obsolete. an instrument of torture, especially the rack.


engine

/ ˈɛԻɪ /

noun

  1. any machine designed to convert energy, esp heat energy, into mechanical work

    a petrol engine

    a steam engine

    1. a railway locomotive
    2. ( as modifier )

      the engine cab

  2. military any of various pieces of equipment formerly used in warfare, such as a battering ram or gun
  3. obsolete.
    any instrument or device

    engines of torture

“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

engine

  1. A machine that turns energy into mechanical force or motion, especially one that gets its energy from a source of heat, such as the burning of a fuel. The efficiency of an engine is the ratio between the kinetic energy produced by the machine and the energy needed to produce it.
  2. See more at internal-combustion engineSee also motor
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Other Word Forms

  • ·Ա· adjective
  • ܱ·پ··Ա noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of engine1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English engin, from Anglo-French, Old French engign, enging, from Latin ingenium “nature, innate quality, mental power, clever invention,” equivalent to in- “in” + -genium (equivalent to gen- “begetting” + -ium noun suffix); in- 2, kin, -ium
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Word History and Origins

Origin of engine1

C13: from Old French engin, from Latin ingenium nature, talent, ingenious contrivance, from in- ² + -genium, related to gignere to beget, produce
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Young explains that they have fewer moving parts than traditional piston engines, making them easier to maintain, yet deliver surprising power for their relatively compact, lightweight size.

From

And the engine rules have also often changed, again for various reasons.

From

Her husband described the odor as akin to an “old car engine.”

From

Unverified footage on social media showed a number of police cars, ambulances and fire engines at the scene, with injured people lying on the ground.

From

In another, Stan and a different friend try to move a heavy car engine onto the back of a truck, with comically pathetic results.

From

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engin.engine company