jet engine

noun

: an engine that produces motion as a result of the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid

specifically : an airplane engine that uses atmospheric oxygen to burn fuel and produces a rearward discharge of heated air and exhaust gases see airplane illustration

Examples of jet engine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Why use the jet engines to run electric fans when the engines can just create thrust directly? —David Szondy june 14, New Atlas, 14 June 2026

Prometheus is instead ingesting information from the physical world to accelerate the manufacturing of everything from skyscrapers to smartphones to jet engines. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 11 June 2026

Standard jet engines deliver far more power for their weight than conventional electric motors can manage, largely because standard copper wiring becomes prohibitively heavy and dangerously overheats when pushed to its limits. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026

Engineers have long noted the similarity between these structures and cones used in jet engines to manage airflow at high speed. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

jet engine

noun

: an engine that produces motion as a result of the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid

especially : an aircraft engine that uses atmospheric oxygen to burn fuel and produces a rearward discharge of heated air and exhaust gases