- engine
- noun1 part of a vehicle that produces powerADJECTIVE▪ big, powerful▪ small▪ twin engines▪
a large plane with twin engines
▪ 2-litre/2-liter, 1200 cc, 20-valve, four-cylinder, two-stroke, etc.▪ 300-hp (esp. AmE), 200-bhp (= brake horsepower) (BrE), etc.▪a 580-horsepower engine
▪ diesel, gas (AmE), gasoline (AmE), petrol (BrE)▪ internal-combustion, jet, outboard, piston, turbine, turbo, turbocharged▪ aircraft, airplane (AmE), rocket▪ carVERB + ENGINE▪ crank, crank up, fire, ignite, start, switch on, turn on▪The rocket engine is ignited.
▪ cut (informal), kill (informal), shut down, shut off, switch off, turn off▪He pulled up under some trees and cut the engine.
▪ gun (AmE), rev, rev up, run▪She sat at the traffic lights revving the engine.
▪ power▪Its engine is powered by both gasoline and electricity.
▪ repair, service, tune▪ lubricate▪ build▪ fit (sth with), install▪The new model is fitted with a more powerful engine.
ENGINE + VERB▪ run▪She waited with the engine running while he bought a paper.
▪The engine runs on diesel.
▪ idle, tick over (BrE)▪I kept the engine ticking over.
▪ catch▪I pressed the starter and the engine caught first time.
▪ fire, fire up, start▪The engine's firing on all four cylinders now.
▪ shut down, shut off, stop▪ break down, die, fail, quit (AmE), seize (AmE), seize up, stall▪ misfire▪ overheat▪ cough, splutter▪The engine coughed and died.
▪ roar, scream▪The plane's engine roared as it prepared for take-off.
▪ hum, purr▪ race, rev, rev up▪He heard a car engine racing behind him.
ENGINE + NOUN▪ capacity, power, speed▪ compartment, room▪the ship's engine room
▪ component, part▪ oil▪ failure, problems, trouble▪It looks as if we've got some engine trouble.
▪ builder, maker, manufacturer▪ plant▪The engine plant was the first one to be built.
▪ noisePREPOSITION▪ in an/the engine▪You need more oil in the engine.
PHRASES▪ be powered by a … engine▪This model is powered by a diesel engine.
▪ the noise, roar, sound, etc. of the engine2 vehicle that pulls a trainADJECTIVE▪ large, powerful▪ diesel, electric, steam▪ railroad (AmE), railway (BrE)VERB + ENGINE▪ buildENGINE + NOUN▪ driver (esp. BrE)▪ shed (BrE)
Collocations dictionary. 2013.