air-breathing

adjective

air-breath·​ing ˈer-ˌbrē-t͟hiŋ 

: of, employing, or being an engine that requires air for combustion

Examples of air-breathing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The key difference is that an HGV is accelerated by a rocket before gliding toward its target, while an HCM uses an air-breathing engine to sustain hypersonic flight. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026

One obvious problem is that an air-breathing engine cannot handle air coming in at Mach 5+. — New Atlas, 6 Apr. 2025

Tropical air-breathing snails lined its shores and shelled creatures lay just below the surface. — Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for air-breathing

• rebreathing
• breathing
• sheathing
• teething