1
: a machine for converting any of various forms of energy into mechanical force and motion
also
: a mechanism or object that serves as an energy source
black holes may be the engines for quasars
2
: a railroad locomotive
3
a
: something used to effect a purpose : agent, instrument
mournful and terrible engine of horror and of crime—
E. A. Poe
E. A. Poe
b
: something that produces a particular and usually desirable result
engines of economic growth
4
a
b
: any of various mechanical appliances
—often used in combination
fire engine
c
: a mechanical tool: such as
(1)
: an instrument or machine of war
(2)
obsolete
: a torture implement
5
: computer software that performs a fundamental function especially of a larger program
engineless
adjective
Synonyms
Examples of engine in a Sentence
Noun
The car has a four-cylinder engine.
tanks, planes, and other engines of war
The tax cut could be an engine of economic growth.
Recent Examples on the WebK. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 9 Aug. 2024
Companies are engines of ambition — innovating here, expanding there, trying to sharpen a business or break into something new.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 8 Aug. 2024
Charles Ventura, USA TODAY, 7 Aug. 2024
Nine Merlin engines up and running and liftoff of Falcon 9!
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 23 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for engine 
Noun
This configuration ships with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor with integrated NPU AI engine, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, along with Windows 11 Home.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 9 Aug. 2024
Companies are engines of ambition — innovating here, expanding there, trying to sharpen a business or break into something new.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 8 Aug. 2024
Verb
Remain in the vehicle with your seat belt fastened, engine off, and parking brake set.
—Charles Ventura, USA TODAY, 7 Aug. 2024
Nine Merlin engines up and running and liftoff of Falcon 9!
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 23 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for engine
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'engine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Engine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engine. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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