turbine

noun

tur·​bine ˈtər-bən  -ˌbīn 

: a rotary engine actuated by the reaction or impulse or both of a current of fluid (such as water, steam, or air) subject to pressure and usually made with a series of curved vanes on a central rotating spindle

Did you know?

The oldest and simplest form of turbine is the waterwheel, which is made to rotate by water falling across its blades and into buckets suspended from them. Hero of Alexandria invented the first steam-driven turbine in the 1st century A.D., but a commercially practical steam turbine wasn't developed until 1884; steam turbines are now the main elements of electric power stations. Jet engines are gas turbines. A turbojet engine uses a turbine to compress the incoming air that feeds the engine before being ejected to push the plane forward; a turboprop engine uses its exhaust to drive a turbine that spins a propeller. A wind turbine generates electricity by being turned by the wind; the largest now have vanes with a turning diameter of over 400 feet.

Examples of turbine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The private museum also has a replica of Sputnik 1, Project Apollo displays, and an Engine Evolution area that lets visitors get a close-up view of rocket engines and jet turbines. —Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025

Offshore turbines, which are taller and more exposed, already lose up to 60 percent of blades to lightning damage. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025

Unlike most fusion efforts, which boil water to spin a turbine, Helion plans to harvest electricity by hurling two plasma rings together at about a million miles an hour. —Harry Booth, Time, 29 Oct. 2025

Bats may mistake reflective turbine blades for the brightness of open skies. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Latin turbin-, turbo top, whirlwind, whirl, from turba confusion — more at turbid

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing turbine

• gas turbine
• steam turbine
• wind turbine

Kids Definition

turbine

noun

tur·​bine ˈtər-bən 

-ˌbīn

: an engine whose central driving shaft is fitted with a series of blades spun around by the pressure of a fluid (as water, steam, or air)

Etymology

from French turbine "turbine," from Latin turbin-, turbo "top (for spinning), whirlwind"