Engine

How it is used

One of the most common words in any workshop or engineering office. You start, run, rebuild or tune an engine; people talk about engine size (for example a 1.6-liter engine), the engine bay, engine oil and engine noise.

Example sentences

1. The engine starts fine but runs rough for the first few minutes on cold mornings.

2. This model is available with a 1.5-liter petrol engine or a diesel engine.

Common collocations

• start the engine
• diesel engine
• engine bay
• engine oil
• engine rebuild

Related terms

• internal combustion engineAn engine that burns fuel and air inside its cylinders, so the pressure of the hot gas pushes the pistons. Petrol and diesel car engines are both of this type.
• cylinderOne of the round chambers in an engine block where a piston moves up and down and the fuel is burned. Most car engines have three, four or six cylinders.
• horsepowerA unit of engine power. One mechanical horsepower is about 746 watts, and the metric horsepower (PS) used in Europe is about 735 watts. Many specifications also give power in kilowatts (kW).
• torqueTwisting force, measured in newton meters (Nm) or pound-feet. It describes how strongly an engine or motor turns, and how tightly a bolt should be tightened.
• powertrainAll the parts that create power and deliver it to the road wheels: the engine or electric motor, the transmission, the driveshafts and the differential.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• engine · Aviation

More terms: Engine and Fuel Systems

• fuel injector
• piston
• crankshaft
• camshaft
• turbocharger
• catalytic converter
• emissions
• coolant
• fuel economy
• timing belt
• spark plug
• idle