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Definition of engine noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

engine

noun
 
/ˈendʒɪn/
 
/ˈendʒɪn/
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  1. the part of a vehicle that produces power to make the vehicle move
    • a diesel/petrol engine
    • I got in the car and started the engine.
    • My car had to have a new engine.
    • The engine runs on diesel.
    • Its engine is powered by both gasoline and electricity.
    • The plane suffered catastrophic engine failure.
    • Their helicopter had developed engine trouble.
    see also internal combustion engine, jet engine, traction engine
    Extra Examples
    • He pulled up under some trees and cut the engine.
    • I kept the engine ticking over.
    • He pressed the starter and the engine caught first time.
    • She sat at the traffic lights revving the engine.
    • I waited with the engine running while he bought a paper.
    • The engine broke down just outside the station.
    • The engine coughed and died.
    • The engine runs on unleaded petrol.
    • The engine was just ticking over.
    • The engine's firing on all four cylinders now.
    • The new model is fitted with a more powerful engine.
    • The plane's engine roared as it prepared for take-off.
    • The rocket engine is ignited.
    • This model is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine.
    • Does your car have a diesel or a petrol engine?
    • You need more oil in the engine.
    • a 580-horsepower engine
    • a large plane with twin engines
    • It looks as if we've got a spot of engine trouble.
    • a gasoline engine
    • The planes have the ability to land safely in the event of an engine failure.
    Topics Transport by bus and traina2, Transport by car or lorrya2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • big
    • powerful
    • small
    verb + engine
    • crank
    • crank up
    • fire
    engine + verb
    • run
    • idle
    • tick over
    engine + noun
    • capacity
    • power
    • speed
    preposition
    • in an/​the engine
    phrases
    • be powered by a… engine
    • the noise, roar, sound, etc. of the engine
    See full entry
  2. a thing that has an important role in making a particular process happen
    • engine of something Agriculture is a key engine of growth in most developing countries.
    • engine for something Great newspapers serve as an engine for positive change.
    • engine for doing something Business is the principal engine for generating wealth for society as a whole.
    • He was the engine behind the victory.
    Extra Examples
    • Small businesses are the engine of economic growth.
    • The region's housing market is a major engine of the economy.
    • The internet really is the growth engine of today's economy.
    • These industries will be the engine of our future prosperity.
    • Exports have been an engine for growth.
  3. (also locomotive)
    a vehicle that pulls a train see also tank engine, traction engine
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • large
    • powerful
    • diesel
    verb + engine
    • build
    engine + noun
    • driver
    • shed
    See full entry
  4. -engined
    (in adjectives) having the type or number of engines mentioned
    • a twin-engined speedboat
  5. see also fire engine, search engine
    Word OriginMiddle English (formerly also as ingine): from Old French engin, from Latin ingenium ‘talent, device’, from in- ‘in’ + gignere ‘beget’; compare with ingenious. The original sense was ‘ingenuity, cunning’ (surviving in Scots as ingine), hence ‘the product of ingenuity, a plot or snare’, also ‘tool, weapon’, later specifically denoting a large mechanical weapon; which led to the sense ‘a machine’ (mid 17th cent.), used commonly later in combinations such as steam engine, internal-combustion engine.
See engine in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee engine in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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adjective
 
 
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