combustion

noun

com·​bus·​tion kəm-ˈbəs-chən 

1

: an act or instance of burning

Smoke is produced during combustion.

2

: a usually rapid chemical process (such as oxidation) that produces heat and usually light

The carburetor mixes fuel with air for combustion.

also : a slower oxidation (as in the body)

3

: violent agitation : tumult

… periods of great social combustion alternating with quiescence …

—Kurt Andersen

combustive

kəm-ˈbə-stiv 

adjective

Examples of combustion in a Sentence

Combustion may occur at high temperatures.

This ratio of air to fuel results in better combustion.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are more internal combustion Dodge coupes and sedans in the works, incidentally. —Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 12 Dec. 2024

Meanwhile, hydrogen can power aircraft through combustion or fuel cells. —Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

But some environmental activists have pushed back, noting that hydrogen combustion still produces harmful air pollution — an especially problematic reality at Valley Generating Station, located in a heavily polluted, largely Latino neighborhood. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English combustioun "burning, calcination," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French combustion, borrowed from Late Latin combustiōn-, combustiō "burning up (of the dead or by the fires in hell)," from Latin combus-, variant stem of combūrere "to destroy with fire, reduce to ashes" + -tiōn-, tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at combust

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing combustion

• combustion chamber
• combustion engine
• external combustion engine
• internal combustion engine
• pre-combustion
• spontaneous combustion

Kids Definition

combustion

noun

com·​bus·​tion kəm-ˈbəs-chən 

1

: an act or instance of burning

2

: a chemical process in which substances combine with oxygen

Medical Definition

combustion

noun

com·​bus·​tion kəm-ˈbəs-chən 

: a usually very rapid chemical process (as oxidation) that produces heat and usually light

also : a slower oxidation (as in the body)