rocket engine

noun

1. a reaction engine that produces a thrust due to an exhaust consisting entirely of material, as oxidizer, fuel, and inert matter, that has been carried with the engine in the vehicle it propels, none of the propellant being derived from the medium through which the vehicle moves.

rocket engine

noun

1. a reaction engine in which a fuel and oxidizer are burnt in a combustion chamber, the products of combustion expanding through a nozzle and producing thrust Also calledrocket motor

rocket engine

1. An engine used to produce a jet of hot gases to propel a rocket. The jet is produced by combustion of a fuel with other chemicals stored in the rocket. Since they do not rely on the oxygen in the atmosphere for combustion, rocket engines can operate in space.
2. Compare turbojet

Word History and Origins

Origin of rocket engine¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Lastly, one of Blue Origin’s biggest strengths has been its rocket engines, particularly the BE-4.

From MIT Technology Review

Anyone who has lived with large rocket engines understands that their awesome power is produced by machinery churning away at very high temperatures, pressures and velocities.

From Washington Post

In December, the company aborted a test flight after its onboard computer that monitors the rocket engines lost connection.

From Washington Post

The actual rocket engines don’t make a safe landing—they burn up and crash into the sea.

From Singularity Hub 

Image from a mid-October test firing of the E-2 rocket engine injector.

From Ars Technica

Both a rocket engine with a temperamental record and an airframe of revolutionary design and construction had to be proved safe.

From The Daily Beast

After tests this January, it was decided to the fuel powering the rocket engine should have its rubber removed.

From The Daily Beast

The RD-171, which would become the RD-180, was a more advanced liquid fuel rocket engine than anything we had.

From The Daily Beast