steam engine

noun

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

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

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Recent Examples of steam engine from the Web

In his telling, the American Revolution helped damage the whaling industry, and the Napoleonic Wars helped spur advances in the steam engine by increasing the demand for horses and, therefore, the cost of transporting them and their fodder.

— New York Times, "A History of the Energy We Have Consumed," 18 June 2018
Canals are needed to move coal, rails to move steam engines and pipelines to carry natural gas — and Rhodes reveals how each required more ingenuity than commonly appreciated to materialize.

— New York Times, "A History of the Energy We Have Consumed," 18 June 2018
This expert working of metal is traced back to James Watt and his development of the steam engine.

— roma agrawal, New York Times, "Under Modernity’s Hood: Precision Engineering," 14 May 2018
The play space also will feature a 30-foot replica of a Corliss steam engine to pay homage to the machine that powered the exhibits at the Centennial Exposition in 1876.

— julia terruso, Philly.com, "$5 million improvement to Fairmount Park could signal revival in Parkside," 14 June 2018
There are various scale model trains in action and visitors can step onboard a 1942 steam engine, a 1922 Pullman dining car, a 1975 boxcar and a 1950 caboose.

— michelle newman, San Antonio Express-News, "New Braunfels: Your guide to shopping, dining and hotels," 11 June 2018
The smaller and more versatile steam engine, credited to James Watt, incorporated elements of Newcomen’s design, as well as a key innovation from the humble pressure cooker.

— david r. baker, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Energy: A Human History,’ by Richard Rhodes," 7 June 2018
The steam engine, which dates to 1898, pulled two of the Disney cars.

— daniel miller, latimes.com, "Walt Disney's first love lives on at this historic California ranch," 24 May 2018
Originally built way back in 1923, the Flying Scotsman is one of the world's most famous steam engines.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "The Iconic Flying Scotsman Steam Engine Looks Majestic In a Dead Sprint," 26 Feb. 2016

These 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.