engine

Noun

1. A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
2. (archaic) A tool; a utensil or implement.
3. A complex mechanical device which converts energy into useful motion or physical effects.
4. A person or group of people which influence a larger group; a driving force.
5. The part of a car or other vehicle which provides the force for motion, now especially one powered by internal combustion.
6. A self-powered vehicle used for moving cars along a track.
7. (usually) A self-powered vehicle used for moving cars along a track.
8. A software or hardware system responsible for a specific technical task (usually with qualifying word).
9. (obsolete) Ingenuity; cunning, trickery, guile.
10. (obsolete) The result of cunning; something ingenious, a contrivance; (in negative senses) a plot, a scheme.
11. (obsolete) Natural talent; genius.
12. Anything used to effect a purpose; any device or contrivance; an agent.

Verb

1. (dated, transitive) To equip with an engine; said especially of steam vessels.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To assault with an engine.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To contrive; to put into action.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛnd͡ʒɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: engyn

In summary

From Middle English engyn, from Anglo-Norman engine, Old French engin (“skill, cleverness, war machine”), from Latin ingenium (“innate or natural quality, nature, genius, a genius, an invention, (in Late Latin) a war-engine, battering-ram”), related to ingignō (“to instil by birth, implant, produce in”). Compare gin, ingenious, engineer.

Synonyms

motor

machine

locomotive

machinery

mechanism

locomotive engine

mechanical device

motor

railway locomotive

steam engine

motor

tool

device

implement

piece

piston engine

E

prop

propeller

propulsion

set

steam locomotive

🚂

tractor

🚜

train

🚋

turbine

utensil

weapon

weapon system

put-put

railway engine

thermal machine

marine machinery

motorshipengine

powerhouse

apparatus

arm

artillery

camera

📷

facility

gadget

gas-engine

generator

gismo

heat engine

instrument

medium

mover

Sentences

We were only half a mile from the destination when the engine packed in .