combustion

[ kuhm-buhs-chuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of burning.
2. Chemistry.
   1. rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and, usually, light.
   2. chemical combination attended by production of heat and light.
   3. slow oxidation not accompanied by high temperature and light.
3. violent excitement; tumult.

combustion

/ kəmˈbʌstʃən /

noun

1. the process of burning
2. any process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to produce a significant rise in temperature and the emission of light
3. a chemical process in which two compounds, such as sodium and chlorine, react together to produce heat and light
4. a process in which a compound reacts slowly with oxygen to produce little heat and no light

combustion

/ kəm-bŭs′chən /

1. The process of burning.
2. A chemical change, especially through the rapid combination of a substance with oxygen, producing heat and, usually, light.
3. See also spontaneous combustion

combustion

1. Burning; a chemical reaction that involves the rapid combination of a fuel with oxygen . ( See oxidation and spontaneous combustion .)

Derived Forms

• comˈbustive, nounadjective

Other Words From

• com·bustive adjective
• noncom·bustion noun
• noncom·bustive adjective
• precom·bustion noun
• self-com·bustion noun
• uncom·bustive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of combustion¹

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Late Latin combūstiōn- (stem of combūstiō ). See combust, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of combustion¹

C15: from Old French, from Latin combūrere to burn up, from com- (intensive) + ūrere to burn

Example Sentences

In Shanghai, it costs $13,000 for a license plate for a vehicle with a combustion engine whereas it’s free for an EV, thereby “creating a huge economic incentive and making the use of electric vehicles a no brainer,” Jato said.

From Fortune

To do so means reducing the environmental impact of the entire car industry, and Porsche sees eFuels as a way to reduce the environmental impact of current and future internal combustion vehicles.

From TechCrunch

This includes all fossil fuel combustion for generating electricity, heating buildings, industrial processes, and transportation.

From Ars Technica

They run on hydrogen combustion using modified gas-turbine engines, and the only byproduct is water.

From Singularity Hub 

It added that it would in the coming months consider the crucial question of when cars with internal combustion engines will need to be banned from the market.

From Fortune

Gas-powered internal combustion engines were pretty much the only way to move a car from one place to another.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

Boeing claims to have eliminated the risk of combustion, but not ignition.

From The Daily Beast

If combustion occurs within a battery, says Boeing, it would be snuffed out in a microsecond for lack of oxygen.

From The Daily Beast

It was “vaporized electrolyte which looks like smoke but is not the result of combustion.”

From The Daily Beast

Aconite … night boat … sea sick … emetics … exhaustion … stimulants … hard drinking … spontaneous combustion … animal charcoal.

From Project Gutenberg

Spontaneous combustion is the burning of a substance or body by the internal development of heat without the application of fire.

From Project Gutenberg

It should be steady, and it should not give out great heat nor injurious products of combustion.

From Project Gutenberg

If he doesn't attend to it we shall have a case of spontaneous combustion to record; and we want to avoid that if possible.

From Project Gutenberg

The error was, non-observation of an important portion of the actual residue, namely, the gaseous products of combustion.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ignition