ramjet

noun

ram·​jet ˈram-ˌjet 

: a jet engine that consists essentially of a hollow tube without mechanical components and depends on the aircraft's speed of flight to compress the air which is supplied to a burner from which hot gases are discharged rearward

Examples of ramjet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1958, the scramjet, or supersonic combustion ramjet, was conceptualized – which would ignite fuel in a combustion chamber while air flowed through continuously at supersonic speeds, eliminating the ramjet's draggy need to slow that airflow down below the speed of sound. —New Atlas, 4 Dec. 2024

Development of Kub’s then-advanced guidance and revolutionary booster-less solid-fuel ramjet engines took nine years to complete. —Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2023

The problem was solved by including a solid-fuel rocket booster inside the engine, which boosts the missile to supersonic speed before being ejected, giving the ramjet the supersonic airflow needed to function. —Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2023

The other method is to develop a cruise missile with an air-breathing ramjet motor that can sustain hypersonic speeds while within the atmosphere. —Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 8 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ramjet

noun

ram·​jet ˌram-ˌjet 

: a jet engine that depends on the speed of flight for the compression of the air it takes in rather than using a mechanical compressor