afterburning

[ af-ter-bur-ning, ahf- ]

noun

1. Aeronautics. combustion in an afterburner that results from the injection of fuel into the exhaust gases of a jet engine to produce additional thrust with more efficient fuel consumption.
2. Rocketry. an irregular burning of residual fuel in some rocket motors after the cessation of the main burning.

afterburning

/ ˈɑːftəˌbɜːnɪŋ /

noun

1. Also calledreheat a process in which additional fuel is ignited in the exhaust gases of a jet engine to produce additional thrust
2. irregular burning of fuel in a rocket motor after the main burning has ceased
3. persistence of combustion in an internal-combustion engine, either in an incorrect part of the cycle or after the ignition has been switched off

Word History and Origins

Origin of afterburning¹

1885–90; after + burning, translation of German Nachbrennen

Example Sentences

The two-man, 1,650-m.p.h. plane is equipped with the world's first afterburning turbofan engines, has a revolutionary swing-wing�the sort envisioned in one of the designs for the nation's first commercial supersonic transport.

From Time Magazine Archive