combustion

noun

com·bus·tion kəm-ˈbəs-chən

: an act or instance of burning

Smoke is produced during combustion.

: a usually rapid chemical process (such as oxidation) that produces heat and usually light

The carburetor mixes fuel with air for combustion.

also : a slower oxidation (as in the body)

: violent agitation : tumult

… periods of great social combustion alternating with quiescence …—

Kurt Andersen

combustive

kəm-ˈbə-stiv

adjective

Examples of combustion in a Sentence

Combustion may occur at high temperatures. This ratio of air to fuel results in better combustion.

Recent Examples on the Web Electric vehicle sales growth is starting to slow, causing automakers to rethink huge investments in the historic transition from internal combustion to electric powertrains. —

Tom Krisher, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023 Zamboni now produces more electric machines than internal combustion. —

Nick Yetto, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023 But burn sites may still be covered with hazardous ash and other debris, potentially including asbestos, heavy metals, by-products of plastic combustion and other chemicals, Maui County warns on its wildfire recovery website. —

Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 22 Sep. 2023 Those plans are now on hold, as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis workers take to the streets to demand a share of the profits generated by combustion trucks and SUVs as well as stronger job security and better retirement plans. —

Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 15 Sep. 2023 Still, Mitchell said workers are worried that the transition from internal combustion vehicles to electric cars may cost them jobs. —

Jill Colvin, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023 The strikes will likely chart the future of the union and of America's homegrown auto industry at a time when U.S. labor is flexing its might and the companies face a historic transition from building internal combustion automobiles to making electric vehicles. —

Tom Krisher, ajc, 16 Sep. 2023 Surprisingly, wildfires and farm dust had stronger ties to dementia prevalence than traffic pollution and coal combustion. —

Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023 While about half of Jakarta’s air pollution is caused by vehicular emissions, coal combustion contributed to 14% of pollution during the wet season from October 2018 to March 2019, according to a joint study by public health nonprofit Vital Strategies and the Bandung Institute of Technology. —

Time, 17 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'combustion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English combustioun "burning, calcination," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French combustion, borrowed from Late Latin combustiōn-, combustiō "burning up (of the dead or by the fires in hell)," from Latin combus-, variant stem of combūrere "to destroy with fire, reduce to ashes" + -tiōn-, tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at combust

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of combustion was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century