four-cycle

American  

[fawr-sahy-kuhl, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌsaɪ kəl, ˈfoʊr- /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to an internal-combustion engine in which a complete cycle in each cylinder requires four strokes, one to draw in air or an air-fuel mixture, one to compress it, one to ignite it and do work, and one to scavenge the cylinder.

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four-cycle British  

adjective

1. Equivalent term (in Britain and certain other countries): four-stroke.  relating to or designating an internal-combustion engine in which the piston makes four strokes for every explosion Compare two-stroke

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Etymology

Origin of four-cycle

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

It's a four-cycle engine, and a fast boat, too.

From Dick in the Everglades by Dimock, A. W.

Know the functions of the clutch, carburetor, valves, magneto, spark plug, differential cam shaft, and different speed gears, and be able to explain difference between a two and four-cycle motor.

From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America

Gas-engines, of the four-cycle type, such as are industrially employed, will here be principally considered.

From Gas-Engines and Producer-Gas Plants A Practice Treatise Setting Forth the Principles of Gas-Engines and Producer Design, the Selection and Installation of an Engine, Conditions of Perfect Operation, Producer-Gas Engines and Their Possibilities, the Care of Gas-Engines and Producer-Gas Plants, with a Chapter on Volatile Hydrocarbon and Oil Engines by Mathot, R. E.

In a four-cylinder, four-cycle engine, while one cylinder is on the power stroke the next is on the compression stroke, the third on the admission stroke, and the fourth on the exhaust stroke.

From The Story of Great Inventions by Burns, Elmer Ellsworth

The greater number of engines used in automobiles to-day are of the kind known as the Otto cycle, or four-cycle, engine.

From The Story of Great Inventions by Burns, Elmer Ellsworth