: 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
variants
or ramjet
: 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
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
One area of concern is the efficiency gap for hypersonic missiles that use ramjets for propulsion.
—New Atlas, 14 Jan. 2026
The program was set up to hide supersonic ramjet surface-to-air missiles all across the continent, with rockets stored horizontally at SAM sites, attached to a launcher with a moveable roof.
—Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
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Noun
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
One area of concern is the efficiency gap for hypersonic missiles that use ramjets for propulsion.
—New Atlas, 14 Jan. 2026
The program was set up to hide supersonic ramjet surface-to-air missiles all across the continent, with rockets stored horizontally at SAM sites, attached to a launcher with a moveable roof.
—Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ramjet
Cite this Entry
“Ramjet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ramjet. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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