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

The spacecraft fired its thrusters to fine-tune its entry path to the splashdown location. —Miles Doran, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

Today, satellites are limited by attitude control systems, which mainly use small thrusters to keep them pointing the right way. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Apr. 2026

At this point, the spacecraft’s thrusters will help to slow the descent. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026

After their Orion spacecraft fired its thrusters to take the crew of NASA’s ongoing Artemis 2 mission away from Earth on April 2, NASA astronaut and commander Reid Wiseman took a moment to snap a breathtaking photo of our world . —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thruster

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

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