internal combustion engine

noun

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of internal combustion engine

: a heat engine in which the combustion that generates the heat takes place inside the engine proper instead of in a furnace

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Recent Examples of internal combustion engine from the Web

These glass tools enabled the development of modern chemistry and medicine, as well as advances such as the steam engine and internal combustion engine.

— doug main, The Atlantic, "Humankind’s Most Important Material," 7 Apr. 2018
Auto Electric cars may be the future, but internal combustion engines aren't giving up without a fight.

— alex davies, WIRED, "China and the Children Will Save the Electric Car From Scott Pruitt's EPA," 30 Mar. 2018
Porsche sells some of the most sophisticated and powerful internal combustion engines in the world.

— russ mitchell, latimes.com, "Porsche rolls out plans to pump fossil fuel profits into electric car creation," 16 Mar. 2018
Not surprisingly, an electric car in China accounts for more than double the emissions than one in the U.K. That's still better than the average internal combustion engine.

— jim efstathiou jr, Bloomberg.com, "How Green Is Your Electric Car?," 28 Feb. 2018
Electric car technology is currently the surest route to cleaner air, but although EV interest is growing, the vast majority of new vehicle buyers today prefer internal combustion engines.

— russ mitchell, latimes.com, "Porsche rolls out plans to pump fossil fuel profits into electric car creation," 16 Mar. 2018
Auto Electric cars may be the future, but internal combustion engines aren't giving up without a fight.

— rhett allain, WIRED, "How Far Can a Car Go Using Different Fuel Sources?," 15 Mar. 2018
Mueller said conventional internal combustion engines would play a role in the company’s push to meet tougher European Union limits on carbon dioxide emissions by 2021.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Bullhorn acquires Talent Rover and Jobscience," 13 Mar. 2018
The Boston Consulting Group added its voice to the chorus of forecasts predicting a slump in U.S. gasoline consumption as electric vehicles become popular and internal combustion engines turn more efficient.

— javier blas, Houston Chronicle, "Rise of electric cars inspires bleak gasoline forecast," 27 Feb. 2018

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