internal-combustion engine

noun

1. an engine of one or more working cylinders in which the process of combustion takes place within the cylinders.

internal-combustion engine

noun

1. a heat engine in which heat is supplied by burning the fuel in the working fluid (usually air)

internal-combustion engine

/ ĭn-tûr′nəl-kəm-bŭs′chən /

1. An engine whose fuel is burned inside the engine itself rather than in an outside furnace or burner. Gasoline and diesel engines are internal-combustion engines, as are gas turbine engines such as turbojets.
2. Compare steam engine

internal-combustion engine

1. Any engine powered by burning fuel inside it (for example, a standard automobile engine). Internal-combustion engines normally burn fossil fuels and therefore are a major source of air pollution . ( See smog .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of internal-combustion engine¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Even more astounding, the fledgling carmaker had ambitions to end the dominance of the world’s largest automakers and displace the modern era’s fundamental transportation technology, the internal-combustion engine.

From Washington Post

Nor would they say whether Oshkosh has preformed a powertrain transition, swapping out an internal-combustion engine and transmission for electric parts, or how much that would cost.

From Washington Post

The trucks are designed to run on either an internal-combustion engine or a battery-electric drivetrain, which has a higher purchase price but would save the Postal Service money over time in fuel and maintenance.

From Washington Post

Right now we’re in a situation where natural scientists are learning the science of climate change, but engineering students in Spain are still learning about the internal-combustion engine as if it were still viable in a few years.

From Time

Companies including GM and Daimler are getting credit for undergoing metamorphoses, though they have spent more than a century basing manufacturing, labor and retailing practices on the internal-combustion engine.

From Fortune

In attempting to compete against the internal combustion engine, Tesla may have to do something similar.

From The Daily Beast

This progress was not accomplished by reinventing the internal combustion engine.

From The Daily Beast

Now it is time for us to say goodbye to the internal combustion engine.

From The Daily Beast

The internal combustion engine powered by readily available and low-cost fossil fuels could very well be reaching its natural end.

From The Daily Beast

And it must save the world from the internal combustion engine.

From The Daily Beast

It represents the greatest possible utilization of the power of heat in an internal-combustion engine.

From Project Gutenberg

The stillness of just-before-dawn was broken by the distant rumble of an internal-combustion engine.

From Project Gutenberg

The internal-combustion engine is the heart of the submarine.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the first instance of the use of an internal combustion engine in connection with aeronautical experiments.

From Project Gutenberg

But the chief method of employing oil for generating power is to use it in an internal combustion-engine.

From Project Gutenberg