thruster

noun

thrust·​er ˈthrə-stər 

variants or less commonly thrustor

: one that thrusts

especially : an engine (such as a jet engine) that develops thrust by expelling a jet of fluid or a stream of particles

Examples of thruster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the rocket appeared tilted too far to the left to land and when the reverse thrusters fired, the rocket overcorrected and leaned too far the other direction before exploding on the landing pad in a cloud of fire and debris. —Nathan Furr, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

For instance, in May 2025, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the missions, successfully revived a set of thrusters aboard Voyager 1 that had been considered inoperable since 2004. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025

The propeller is able to rotate 360 degrees for more precise maneuvering in tight waters, without so much as switching on a bow thruster. —New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025

Russia's Progress cargo freighters often use their own thrusters to raise the lab's altitude or steer it out of the way of space junk. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thruster

• bluster
• buster
• cluster
• duster
• juster
• luster
• lustre
• muster
• trustor
• adjuster
• baluster
• blockbuster

Kids Definition

thruster

noun

thrust·​er ˈthrəs-tər 

: one that thrusts

especially : an engine that produces thrust by discharging a jet of fluid or a stream of particles