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Definition of steam engine
: an engine driven or worked by steam specifically : a reciprocating engine having a piston driven in a closed cylinder by steam
Examples of steam engine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Bucyrus took ownership of the building in 1910 and used it as a machine shop and steam engine assembly shop and later as an employee club.
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Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Bucyrus Club, a new banquet hall, is coming to downtown South Milwaukee thanks to a $2 million gift," 20 Feb. 2020 But the smoke that billowed from steam engines was unhealthy, polluting and sometimes dangerous.
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Kevin Leonard, baltimoresun.com, "The dream of electric trains has origins in Laurel," 6 Sep. 2019 The sculpture proclaimed that the three greatest inventions of the previous 500 years were the steam engine, the electric telegraph and what?
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John Kelly, Washington Post, "John Kelly's annual arcane Washington history trivia quiz," 24 Dec. 2019 Opera singers performed — until they were playfully tooted down by Illinois Central steam engines, brought in to lend bluster and smoky mis-en-scene to the inaugural event.
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Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, "This year’s Chicago Christmas tree is from a front yard in Elgin, and carries more than a century of curious traditions," 21 Nov. 2019 Seizing on Faraday’s principle of electromagnetic induction, ingenious instrument makers began fashioning new machines that could be cranked by hand or powered by a steam engine to produce a strong electric current.
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National Geographic, "Edison and Tesla's cutthroat 'Current War' ushered in the electric age," 27 Sep. 2019 In its time, the steam engine was the peak of high-tech – the 1800s version of the Boeing 747 or the space shuttle.
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CBS News, "Passengers on scenic railroad in American West "see the world as it existed 140 years ago"," 23 Nov. 2019 Fall at Cottonwood Farm in Lafayette Your ticket includes a 4-acre corn maze, straw bale maze, pumpkin patch, farm animals, steam engine and farm equipment, farm stand and hay rides ($3 per person on Saturdays and Sundays).
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Beth Rankin, The Know, "A guide to Colorado corn mazes, pumpkin patches and fall farm festivals," 4 Oct. 2019 But poor stewardship by European Americans — particularly starting in the 1830s, when steam engines made logging for timber a more profitable enterprise — have ultimately reduced it to less than 3% of its original range.
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Los Angeles Times, "Small strips of nature in just the right places can keep plants from going extinct," 27 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'steam engine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for steam engine
The first known use of steam engine was in 1751
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