thruster

noun

thrust·​er ˈthrə-stər 

variants or less commonly thrustor

: one that thrusts

especially : an engine (such as a jet engine) that develops thrust by expelling a jet of fluid or a stream of particles

Examples of thruster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Through sporadic radio contact, engineers discovered a problem with some of the spacecraft’s cold gas thrusters used for finer attitude control. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026

Katalyst is now trying to stabilize LINK’s spin using the spacecraft’s xenon-gas thrusters. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 29 July 2026

Unlike rocky asteroids, comets can subtly change course as gas escaping from their surfaces acts like tiny thrusters. — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 22 July 2026

Vripack spearheaded exterior and interior design, Dykstra Naval Architects executed the hull, sailplan, and thruster design, and Vitters Shipyard led the build. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thruster

• bluster
• buster
• cluster
• duster
• juster
• luster
• lustre
• maister
• muster
• trustor
• adjuster
• baluster

Kids Definition

thruster

noun

thrust·​er ˈthrəs-tər 

: one that thrusts

especially : an engine that produces thrust by discharging a jet of fluid or a stream of particles