engine

noun

en·gine | \ˈen-jən

Definition of engine

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 obsolete

b : evil contrivance : wile

2a : something used to effect a purpose : agent, instrument mournful and terrible engine of horror and of crime— E. A. Poe

b : something that produces a particular and usually desirable result engines of economic growth

3a : a mechanical tool: such as

(1) : an instrument or machine of war

(2) obsolete : a torture implement

b : machinery

c : any of various mechanical appliances —often used in combination fire engine

4 : a machine for converting any of various forms of energy into mechanical force and motion also : a mechanism or object that serves as an energy source black holes may be the engines for quasars

5 : a railroad locomotive

6 : computer software that performs a fundamental function especially of a larger program

engine

verb

engined; engining

Definition of engine (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to equip with engines

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Examples of engine in a Sentence

Noun

The car has a four-cylinder engine. tanks, planes, and other engines of war The tax cut could be an engine of economic growth.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Under the hood is a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine with 73 horsepower and 82 foot-pounds of torque, combined with a 60-horsepower electric motor. — G. Chambers Williams Iii, Houston Chronicle, "COMPACT," 13 July 2018 The nation’s vast public lands have always been an engine for energy development. — Zack Colman, Scientific American, "A Trump Oil Boom Could Transform This Rocky Mountain Landscape," 13 July 2018 San Francisco residents seem to be divided into four broad classes, or perhaps even castes: The Inner Party of venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs who run the tech machine that is the engine of the city’s economy. — Antonio García Martínez, WIRED, "How Silicon Valley Fuels an Informal Caste System," 9 July 2018 The retro model is the narrative engine of the new documentary Three Identical Strangers. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Three Identical Men and a Mystery," 5 July 2018 Communities that strategically position themselves in the economic development marketplace as sustainable places to live and do business are more likely to be successful engines of innovation, business development, and employment growth. — charlotteobserver, "Ashley Christensen," 3 July 2018 Under the hood is an advanced 5.6-liter V-8 engine with 400 horsepower and 413 foot-pounds of torque, connected to a smooth-shifting seven-speed automatic transmission with Adaptive Shift Control and manual shift mode with Downshift Rev Matching. — star-telegram, "Infiniti QX80 full-size luxury SUV brings elegance, technology to the family hauler," 30 June 2018 There's no engine to feed with air and few radiators to cool, so the body isn't scarred with intake ducts, scoops, or vents. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "7:57:148—Volkswagen makes racing history with record-breaking electric race car," 29 June 2018 Resting on steel supports and accompanied by recordings of people reciting the Catholic rosary in German, French and English are car engines from Porsche, Citroen and Lincoln, which are running. — New York Times, "This Artist Foresaw Our Digital Future in a Meadow of Dandelions," 21 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Why can't engine manufacturers come up with an engine similar to what is on the more fuel-efficient aircraft — for example, producing a version of the engine that is on a 787 or a 777 — to fit and safely propel the 747? — John Cox, USA TODAY, "Ask the Captain: Can the 747 be saved?," 29 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'engine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.