engineen‧gine /ˈendʒɪn/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 
The engine won’t start.stop/turn off/switch off an engine He switched off the car’s engine and waited. Is the engine running smoothly?diesel/petrol etc engine an old steam engine We were stranded with engine trouble on a deserted highway.2a vehicle that pulls a railway train3[usually singular] formal something powerful that causes great changes in societyengine of change/growth etc The Marshall Plan was the engine of post-war economic growth. Rome’s deadly war engine → fire engineCOLLOCATIONSverbsswitch on/turn on/start an engine· I fastened my seat belt and turned on the engine.switch off/turn off/stop an engine· Maggie pulled over and switched off the engine.rev (up) an engine British English, gun an engine American English (=make an engine go very fast)· As the lights turned green, Chris gunned the engine and we surged forward.an engine runs· He parked outside the bank and kept the engine running.an engine idles/ticks over (=runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving)· The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.an engine cuts out (=stops suddenly)· The engine keeps cutting out.adjectivesbig/powerful· The newer model has a more powerful engine.small· The engine is small, so it's quite economical to run.a petrol/diesel engine· The van has a 2.5 litre diesel engine.a jet engine· the plane's powerful jet enginesa car/motorbike etc engine· I heard the sound of a car engine in the distance.engine + NOUNengine trouble (=problems with an engine)· When the boat developed engine trouble, the crew had to abandon ship.engine failure (=when an engine stops working suddenly)· Their aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed into the sea.engine capacity (=an engine's size or power)· The engine capacity of motorcycles ranges from 50cc to 1800cc.
WORD ORIGINengine
Origin:
1300-1400 Old French engin ‘cleverness, machine’, from Latin ingenium ‘abilities you are born with’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a diesel engine
- a jet engine
- Every time I try to start the engine, there's a strange knocking sound.
- For next year, the company will offer three cars with turbocharged diesel engines in the United States.
- She left the car in the drive with the engine still running.
- Some residents fear the crops would attract birds that might be sucked into jet engines.
- The car's engine tends to be noisy as it builds to highway speeds.
- The SVT is available only with a six-cylinder engine.
- A piston engine reacts immediately to power, just like a car.
- He turned on the engine with a swift, disgusted motion.
- I pressed the starter and the engine caught first time.
- I would love to test the same rig with a turbocharged diesel engine.
- Initially the engine refused to start for my grim, preoccupied father.
- Some of their multi-cylinder motor cycle engines have pistons little bigger than thimbles.
- The construction equipment giant has been a customer since the early Seventies, and has taken delivery of 150,000 engines to date.
- The inference engine is generic, and it handles the logistics of a consultation.
Longman Language Activatora thing that produces power for a machine or vehicle
the part of a car, aircraft etc that produces the power that makes it move: · Every time I try to start the engine, there's a strange knocking sound.· She left the car in the drive with the engine still running.· The SVT is available only with a six-cylinder engine.automobile/jet etc engine: · Some residents fear the crops would attract birds that might be sucked into jet engines.diesel engine: · For next year, the company will offer three cars with turbocharged diesel engines in the United States.
the part of a machine that makes it work or move, especially by using electrical power: · Just then, the motor failed and the boat began drifting out of control.electric motor: · The ceiling fan is powered by an electric motor.
WORD SETSboiler, nouncamshaft, nounchuck, nouncollar, nounconsole, nouncylinder, noundecompress, verbdiggings, noundrag, nounengagement, nounengine, nounengineer, nounengineer, verbexhaust, nounhydraulics, nounlubricant, nounlubricate, verbmetal fatigue, nounperformance, nounpipe fitter, nounpipeline, nounpiston, nounplunger, nounregulator, nounrig, nounrivet, verbrotary, adjectivesafety valve, nounseparator, nounshaft, nounshockproof, adjectivesparking plug, nounspark plug, nounspindle, nounstarter, nounstreamline, verbtheodolite, nountorsion, nountruss, nountune, verbtune-up, nountunnel, verbturboprop, nounwind tunnel, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs engine compartment Try cranking the engine. a 1.9 litre diesel engine You shouldn’t keep the engine running when the car is standing still. He couldn’t get his motorbike started.
1the part of a vehicle that produces power to make it movestart/switch on an engine· I fastened my seat belt and turned on the engine.
· Maggie pulled over and switched off the engine.
British English, gun an engine American English (=make an engine go very fast)· As the lights turned green, Chris gunned the engine and we surged forward.
· He parked outside the bank and kept the engine running.
(=runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving)· The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.
(=stops suddenly)· The engine keeps cutting out.
adjectives· The newer model has a more powerful engine.
· The engine is small, so it's quite economical to run.
· The van has a 2.5 litre diesel engine.
· the plane's powerful jet engines
· I heard the sound of a car engine in the distance.
engine + NOUN (=problems with an engine)· When the boat developed engine trouble, the crew had to abandon ship.
(=when an engine stops working suddenly)· Their aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed into the sea.
(=an engine's size or power)· The engine capacity of motorcycles ranges from 50cc to 1800cc.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· She left the car engine running.
engine compartment Try cranking the engine. a 1.9 litre diesel engine· It was peaceful there, with no traffic noise at all.
You shouldn’t keep the engine running when the car is standing still. He couldn’t get his motorbike started. (=an engine etc that works by steam power)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· It's gone for a big six-cylinder, turbocharged 2. litre diesel engine under the bonnet.· Although over the moon with it generally, I am disappointed with the lack of power in the naturally aspirated diesel engine.· An example is Volvo Penta, a large producer of diesel engines for marine purposes.· Because the diesel engine uses so much less fuel it releases substantially less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.· The argument also takes no account of the extra oil-change services that diesel engines require.· There are diesel engines from Perkins which will fit - these are the 4.203 and 4.236 with suitable adaptors.· The latter are modified diesel engines using a short squirt of conventional fuel to encourage injected gas to burn.· The vehicles are modified Daimler Benz buses, powered by diesel engines or by overhead electric cables.
· The computer chip was a huge breakthrough, greater than the lightbulb, telephone, or internal combustion engine.· First and most radical, a new means of propulsion other than the internal combustion engine might be considered.· Secondly, new fuels for the internal combustion engine which do not involve the depletion of vital and limited energy resources.· A combination of mass production and the internal combustion engine was responsible for the Allied victory.· Both have been accelerated since the war by the widespread application of the internal combustion engine.· A model car doesn't have to contain all the elements of an internal combustion engine in order to work as a toy!· The internal combustion engine created a new mobility, for people and goods alike.
· The force of the main engines causes the top of the shuttle to tip by 1-2 metres.· An independent company, that is, with its two main engines of growth showing definite signs of maturity.· The main gasoline engine can be turned and its valve gear operates.· Try the main search engines and study their instruction.· There will be 19 main engines for the shuttle - each orbiter carries three, the rest are spares.· The main engines and fuel pumps are removed and sent for refurbishment.· Ball argues that the main engine in the shaping of higher education should be informed student demand, not manpower planning.· This would give the stage an upward acceleration, settling the liquid before the pumps cut in at main engine ignition.
· Would such an engine fit in the new car's engine bay?· Two days later, with the new engine in place, Tim and Chuck found a crack in one of the cylinders!· Developing a new engine takes several years and costs $ 1. 5 billion or more.· At least five new engines and one ladder truck are needed per year for the subsequent three years, they said.· A new four-channel engine immobiliser system has been developed and added to the range.· The car, with modified suspension and a new engine, will display Stansted Airport stickers this season.
· It has one of the most powerful engines of its type in the world.· There were no mechanisms aboard the bell, but the ship herself had powerful engines.· The driver is experienced, the car is powerful, the engine is tuned, but the clutch will not engage.· Most other members of the family have more powerful engines.· Its long black bonnet gleamed in the light of the passing street-lamps, and its powerful engine echoed through empty streets.· Then, with a single powerful engine burn, the spacecraft can decelerate to a soft landing on the lunar surface.· Certainly few would see the engineering industry as a powerful engine of future economic growth.· The Huey, on the other hand, with its powerful, light-weight engine, had power to spare.
· This might not seem small in petrol engine terms but for a diesel it is quite dinky.· It was placed in an eccentric, high-inclination orbit around Venus by the firing of a small rocket engine.· A wheelbarrow mounted version can be switched between different small engines in a farm or industrial plant.· Twowheel drivers with fabric upholstery and the smaller engine start at $ 28, 000.· But instead of scooting, the rider stands on two side plates, while a small petrol engine drives the rear wheel.· Available only with the smaller engine, 500 are being produced at a cost of £16,000 apiece.· This powered a number of small engines with gleaming copper coils.· The winding drum is powered by a small steam engine, operating through a worm-wheel and gear.
· Iron stoves, buttons, ships, shirts, hairbrushes, paint, steam engines, books.· The steam engine is an unthinkable contraption without the domesticating loop of the revolving governor.· The immense surrogate slave power released by the steam engine ushered in the Industrial Revolution.· Gritty steam engines, not teeny chips, hauled the world into the information age.· Only then, typically, would it become part of a steam engine, gearbox, or pump.· James Watt, who is credited with inventing the steam engine, did not.· If one man invented a steam engine and another a railway, then the two could come together.
NOUN· The car engine continued to run despite my having the ignition key in my pocket!· He hears a car engine start.· Either the car engine is on or it is not.· And slowly, not two or three thousand revolutions per minute like your car engine, but maybe two hundred.· There you will meet a tall, rugged stranger taking his car engine to bits with no hope of reassembling it.· From dawn in the street, the voices of kids, car engines and cyclo bells still floated up.· A few minutes later she heard the rich throb of a car engine in the drive below.· As she lay there, barely conscious, she heard the sound of a car engine approaching.
· But even though it is still dark, I hear a combustion engine in the woods across the valley.· First and most radical, a new means of propulsion other than the internal combustion engine might be considered.· The computer chip was a huge breakthrough, greater than the lightbulb, telephone, or internal combustion engine.· Secondly, new fuels for the internal combustion engine which do not involve the depletion of vital and limited energy resources.· A combination of mass production and the internal combustion engine was responsible for the Allied victory.· Both have been accelerated since the war by the widespread application of the internal combustion engine.· A model car doesn't have to contain all the elements of an internal combustion engine in order to work as a toy!
· Start off by cleaning down all the oily and greasy bits - the engine compartment, undercarriage and control surface hinges.· For example, closed circuit television gives the helmsman a view of the engine compartment and of the aft deck of the boat.· It detonated directly beneath U-494's engine compartment.· He'd opened the smashed engine compartment, and was pointing to where the battery wasn't.· Two large side panels, which are removed by undoing two knots, cover each side of the engine compartment.· The engine compartment is completely wax protected and the whole car has three layers of paint rather than two.
· The cause of engine failure was at length discovered.· There were two aircraft casualties, a Zero crashed on take-off from the Hiryu and a Kate suffered engine failure.· An investigation into the crash found no evidence of engine failure - the problem was loss of power.· Pilots normally feather propellers for two reasons: because of engine failure or a racing propeller.· This means a catastrophic engine failure could send a fragment into the wing and ignite the fuel vapour.· Although the cause of the accident remained under investigation, eyewitnesses said the plane apparently suffered engine failure.
· Somewhere, the bell of a fire engine clanged and men's voices called urgently.· Look, there goes a fire engine.· It all came to a head the day a fire engine couldn't get down the High Street for parked cars.· One night she heard an ambulance approach the hospital and mistook it for a fire engine.· He saw that one fire engine got through okay but the second a slight problem in two places.· But it is all confusion.... Fire engines have been sent for, to put out the fire.· There were police cars, fire engines, helicopters - oh yeah, and a naked woman.· Daniel Ray, 25, dropped his lunch and jumped aboard a fire engine with the rest of his crew.
· It has been used successfully, for example in the design of jet engines.· In fact the improvement statistics in our jet engine shops were even more remarkable.· A jet engine can take up to six seconds to spool up.· Besides the black boxes, this category includes the jet engines, the pilot escape system, and so on.· When a resultant is radial, the body can take off, like a rocket or a jet engine.· Cobalt is important in the jet engines of aeroplanes because it makes turbine blades resist high temperatures.
· He noticed the change of pitch in the engine noise and the slight tilt of the aircraft as it began its descent.· I yelled over the engine noise of the old Dodge van.· Richmann tensed as the approaching engine noise reached a peak.· For perhaps half a minute we strained to identify the source of the engine noise.· This was done and almost immediately we noticed increased engine noise.· The engine noise rose, the chocks were pulled.· The dark of the tunnel hammered the engine noise back at us, water drumming on the roof above my head.· If possible, run the engine, checking for excessive exhaust smoke and engine noise.
· It uses the familiar 1. litre petrol engine, and comes in three or five-door versions.· This might not seem small in petrol engine terms but for a diesel it is quite dinky.· Power for the rotary cultivation unit was provided by an air cooled petrol engine mounted on the plough.· Clios fitted with petrol engines do not require their first service until 6,000 miles.· But instead of scooting, the rider stands on two side plates, while a small petrol engine drives the rear wheel.· I own a 109 Safari and it is ex-military with the two and a quarter petrol engine.
· Why the door to the engine room was open and undamaged.· Two merchant seamen in the engine room were killed immediately and a third died later on a lifeboat.· Half way up the steps there's a standing wall, the remains of an engine room.· There are sailors sleeping next to the engine room of ships and astronauts sleeping in weightlessness.· Down below in the engine room it would be warm.· He swore he could get me into the engine room.· It was a kind of artistic engine room, except that it was silent.· Local media reported that when firemen entered the engine room, they found bodies piled on top of each other.
· Keeping the engine running, I waited.· A big saloon car was parked outside the other door with its engine running.· Leaving the engine running, he went and leaned on the railings.· He said it was accidentally gassed when he left his car engine running.· The man who got out of it left the headlights full on and the engine running.· Leaving the engine running, he then returned to the house to collect his executive briefcase and other relevant impedimenta.· Outside, some one found the press coach, deserted and with the engine running.· The animal had been in the garage while he was working on the car with the engine running.
· Earlier AltaVista, the search engine portal, reported losses of $ 307m on revenues of $ 98m in the second quarter.· McKinley and Excite currently command two of the five most prominent spots for search engines on the Netscape browser home page.· Angular momentum is the momentum associated with rotational motion. Search engines are by no means infallible.· Ski Central is fast and easy to use, and its sophisticated search engine provides links to corresponding areas within the site.· Each search engine has its own quirks to lean-otherwise you'il waste a lot of time weeding through poor results.· In addition, the site provides access to hundreds of specialty search engines, organized by category.· If you're going to add a Web search engine to your site, this is a lot easier.
· As the Sea King hovered in gale force winds, alarms warned of engine trouble.· For the record their performance was marred by engine trouble, but simply taking part was more significant than the result.· Outside Peterborough we ran into engine trouble and lost nearly two hours.· The boat belonging to Arnold Spence, the fisherman for whom he worked, had developed engine trouble.· Gehlbach, flying the R-2 had engine trouble in the Bendix, losing oil, and finishing second.· He had a story of engine trouble to explain his own unauthorised landing, and we had to let him go.· J.B. Holgate had suffered engine trouble and been forced to return.
VERB· It was John Wilkinson who first enabled Watt to build engines with large accurately-bored cylinders.· Bill and I built that engine.· Lincoln built 6500 Liberty engines and employed 6000 people by the end of the war.· Now they subcontract out about half of their functions, including the rather important job of building engines.· Ironically, Cadillac also started building the same engines soon after Leland started Lincoln.· Otto built a special racing engine in 1901 that weighed a thousand pounds and produced forty horsepower.· At a drop zone there she met Steve, a tall, outgoing mechanical engineer who built jet engines.· Toyota is to build diesel engines in Britain.
· Grant cuts the engine right back to idle.· Clayt braked hard, pulled off and cut the engine.· He parked outside the tall façade of the house, cut the engine.· It drew level, then cut back its engine, and came wallowing close alongside.· The only problem which cured itself was a horn that tended to cut the engine during the early life of the car.· The big patrol boat cut its engines as it drew level, and the grey-painted military hull sank down into the water.· Those often cut their engines and drift out of control off Muckle Flugga, possibly to save fuel.· They cut the engine to allow the animals to pass undisturbed.
· The accountant strolled round to the driver's side, got in, revved up the engine and drove the champion home.· Koju and the uniform revved the engine and drove belligerently in front of us.· It is the engine that drives the economy.· Then I started the engine and drove back to where I had seen the Pan-Am Norte sign.· Gebrec shrugged, climbed aboard, started the engine and drove out of the yard.· She started up the engine and drove swiftly away.· But instead of scooting, the rider stands on two side plates, while a small petrol engine drives the rear wheel.
· Included in the 707/300 series was the 707/400 series fitted with Rolls Royce engines.· Clios fitted with petrol engines do not require their first service until 6,000 miles.· The later breathing system could have been fitted or the engine fitted to a later vehicle.· A three-bladed test prop is fitted to each engine for its assessment runs.· Below: As technology improved there were various attempts to fit engines in horse drawn narrow boats.· If Ducati does fit the new engine to the 996, it could simultaneously make other performance-boosting changes.· Volkswagen has fitted bigger engines to compensate for the extra weight of the stronger and safer structure of the latest version.· Is it possible to fit a diesel engine and an auto gearbox without being too expensive?
· People living near the crash scene paid no attention when they heard the engine of the aircraft cut out in mid-air.· He hears a car engine start.· He was driving away from me grounds of Hauser's estate when he heard a different engine sound.· But even though it is still dark, I hear a combustion engine in the woods across the valley.· I hear them turn the engine on.· He could hear engines gunning, hammers ringing, voices shouting back and forth.· He said he heard a car engine racing behind him and turned round to see headlights.· Piercing, piercing whistling rasping through teeth, could easily be heard over engine.
· The accountant strolled round to the driver's side, got in, revved up the engine and drove the champion home.· Aunt Belle revved the engine a few more times then shut it off.· And the pirate, if that is what he was, revved up his engines and began to turn away.· At noon each boat revs its engine, makes a half-circle and begins to feed the river its net.· He waited until Miguel was back in his car and revved the engine.· Arabella drove through the archway, revving the engine far too high, as she always did in the lower gears.· Greene stood a few yards away, revving his engine.
· If possible, run the engine, checking for excessive exhaust smoke and engine noise.· After running the engine for a few miles, the gauge is up to the red.· Outside Peterborough we ran into engine trouble and lost nearly two hours.
· To avoid this and also to facilitate starting, engines are set to run about fifteen percent rich on the ground.· He started up the engine, felt the boat rise and take to the water.· She turned back, and only then remembered that some one had started the engines.· He started the engine again and they climbed for several hundred yards without lights.· Usually, all one gets is the chance to start up the engine for a minute or so on a viewing day.· Then the driver started the engine, and off they went.· Then I started the engine and drove back to where I had seen the Pan-Am Norte sign.· Sherman started the engine up again.
· He decided to wait, watching as the driver switched off the engine and slid from behind the wheel.· Mr Phipps approached the car and switched the engine off.· He parked close to where the land sloped downwards to a narrow pebble beach, and switched the engine off.· The pilots were instructed simply to switch off their engines upon landing as taxi-ing the aircraft would be impossible.· The outside air temperature was above minimum, but I switched on the engine anti-ice anyway, just to be sure.· Jim switched his engine off and stretched his arms.· A wheelbarrow mounted version can be switched between different small engines in a farm or industrial plant.· Two miles out of town he pulled into a shallow ditch and switched the engine off.
· He turned the engine of the lawnmower off and waved back.· Clayt turned the engine over and felt for the accelerator with his toe and backed into the Harpswell Road.· I hear them turn the engine on.· He turned the engine over, the warm rumble of his Baby rejuvenating him.· THIRTY-ONE Harry turned off the car engine and wound down the window.· Janie turned off the engine and closed the doors.· He turned on the engine with a swift, disgusted motion.
· What happens if I use unleaded in my engine?· If you use unleaded in an engine not designed for it then premature failure of the exhaust valve seats will result.· If I use unleaded will my engine be less powerful?· You have obviously used an automatic engine.· When swapping engines, use the clutch assembly which is compatible with the gearbox you are using.· This was done by using a huge oil engine as a generator.· Read me Search engines Use a search engine when you're looking for specific mention of something on a Web page.· He could have pushed the throttle forwards and avoided the accident by using the engine.
The engine won’t start.stop/turn off/switch off an engine He switched off the car’s engine and waited. Is the engine running smoothly?diesel/petrol etc engine an old steam engine We were stranded with engine trouble on a deserted highway.2a vehicle that pulls a railway train3[usually singular] formal something powerful that causes great changes in societyengine of change/growth etc The Marshall Plan was the engine of post-war economic growth. Rome’s deadly war engine → fire engineCOLLOCATIONSverbsswitch on/turn on/start an engine· I fastened my seat belt and turned on the engine.switch off/turn off/stop an engine· Maggie pulled over and switched off the engine.rev (up) an engine British English, gun an engine American English (=make an engine go very fast)· As the lights turned green, Chris gunned the engine and we surged forward.an engine runs· He parked outside the bank and kept the engine running.an engine idles/ticks over (=runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving)· The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.an engine cuts out (=stops suddenly)· The engine keeps cutting out.adjectivesbig/powerful· The newer model has a more powerful engine.small· The engine is small, so it's quite economical to run.a petrol/diesel engine· The van has a 2.5 litre diesel engine.a jet engine· the plane's powerful jet enginesa car/motorbike etc engine· I heard the sound of a car engine in the distance.engine + NOUNengine trouble (=problems with an engine)· When the boat developed engine trouble, the crew had to abandon ship.engine failure (=when an engine stops working suddenly)· Their aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed into the sea.engine capacity (=an engine's size or power)· The engine capacity of motorcycles ranges from 50cc to 1800cc.