internal combustion engine

noun

: a heat engine in which the combustion that generates the heat takes place inside the engine proper instead of in a furnace

Examples of internal combustion engine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And that's under the hood of every internal combustion engine car. Tracy Smith, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2025 Just about every car brand at the Suntec City exhibition hall, which hosted the car show from Jan. 9 to 12, showed off at least one hybrid or battery electric vehicle, as world car markets continue their drive away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Jason Ma, Fortune Asia, 13 Jan. 2025 Human metabolism is only about 25 percent efficient—comparable to the internal combustion engine in your car—so three-quarters of the energy in your food is released as heat in the muscles. Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 17 Dec. 2024 Meet your new virtual assistant: The AI in your car Q: Talk about the challenges of designing a car that can be sold with an internal combustion engine and an electric battery. Morgan Korn, ABC News, 22 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for internal combustion engine 

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of internal combustion engine was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near internal combustion engine

Cite this Entry

“Internal combustion engine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internal%20combustion%20engine. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

internal combustion engine

noun
: an engine in which the fuel is ignited within the engine cylinder instead of in an external furnace
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