ramjet

1 of 2

noun (1)

ram·​jet ˈram-ˌjet 

: a jet engine that consists essentially of a hollow tube without mechanical components and depends on the aircraft's speed of flight to compress the air which is supplied to a burner from which hot gases are discharged rearward

ramjet engine

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or ramjet

ˈram-ˌjet 

: a jet engine having in its forward end a continuous inlet of air so that there is a compressing effect produced on the air taken in while the engine is in motion with the compressed air that enters the combustion chamber and the constant burning of the fuel resulting in a continuous jet of hot gases

Examples of ramjet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While hypersonic missiles powered by ramjets or other advanced propulsion systems offer significant performance advantages, glide bodies are mechanically much simpler to build and deploy. — David Szondy june 26, New Atlas, 26 June 2026

Project Pluto's design, known as a ramjet, required air to move through it very quickly and could only operate at supersonic speeds. — Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 18 June 2026

According to the team, the hypersonic ramjet engine’s primary design layout met all criteria for safe flight. — Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 20 May 2026

That's the main difference between a scramjet and a ramjet, which deals with slower-moving air. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

ram entry 2 + jet

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ramjet

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• binet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette

Kids Definition

ramjet

noun

ram·​jet ˌram-ˌjet 

: a jet engine that depends on the speed of flight for the compression of the air it takes in rather than using a mechanical compressor