glow plug

American

noun

Automotive, Machinery.

a device for each cylinder of a diesel engine with a heating element to heat the incoming fuel and air so that combustion will take place more readily when the engine is cold.

glow plug British

noun

Also called: heater plug. one of usually four plugs fitted to the cylinder block of a diesel engine that warms the engine chamber to facilitate starting in cold weather

"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

Other Word Forms

glow-plug adjective

Etymology

Origin of glow plug

First recorded in 1940–45

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 Olds diesel has a block heater and a "prechamber," where the mixture is briefly heated by a glow plug.

From Time Magazine Archive

Finally, it devised a still not entirely satisfactory solution: a platinum glow plug "pilot light" that automatically relights an engine if it goes out.

From Time Magazine Archive

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