turbocharger

noun tur·bo·charg·er \ ˈtər-bō-ˌchär-jər \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of turbocharger

: a centrifugal blower driven by exhaust gas turbines and used to supercharge an engine

See turbocharger defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of turbocharger from the Web

In one spot, the coaster pauses, moves backward and then zooms through a turbocharger set up to look like it was pulled from a toy car track.

— gabrielle russon, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Disney Toy Story Land first look: Details bring attraction to life," 28 June 2018
Based in Columbus, Ind., Cummins imports small diesel engines and components such as turbochargers from its own plants in China to sell in the U.S. or use at its domestic plants.

— patrick mcgroarty, WSJ, "Cummins Will Pay Tariff to Import Engines From Its Own Plants in China," 22 June 2018
But all-wheel-drive models get a higher-output T5 turbocharger and develop 248 horsepower compared with 187 horsepower in the T4 base model.

— mark phelan, USA TODAY, "Review: Volvo loads up XC40 compact SUV with nifty features," 8 June 2018
Turbocharging The turbocharger is one of the jewels of engine advancements.

— blake z. rong, Popular Mechanics, "The Evolution of the Combustion Engine," 5 June 2018
Front- and all-wheel-drive XC40s both have a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, but AWD models get a higher-output T5 turbocharger and develop 248 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, compared with 187 hp and 221 pound-feet for the T4 base model.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "2019 Volvo XC40 SUV has wireless phone charging, carryout bag hook," 23 May 2018
The turbo four provides plenty of pep when motoring around town, especially once the turbocharger kicks in, and power is adequate for merging into traffic.

— michael simari, Car and Driver, "2018 Audi A6," 22 Mar. 2018
In comfort and eco mode, the shift points in the eight-speed automatic come quicker, and start/stop technology as well as the turbocharger help conserve fuel to a respectable 26 mpg while averaging 47 mph.

— robert duffer, chicagotribune.com, "Review: 2019 Volvo XC40 continues winning crossover tradition," 25 Apr. 2018
In practice, the engines are less about Eco and more about Boost, utilizing their turbochargers to increase power rather than stretch fuel.

— Car and Driver, "2018 Ford Escape," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'turbocharger.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.