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ENGINE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("engine" is a kind of...):
motor (machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion)
Meronyms (parts of "engine"):
camshaft (an engine shaft with cams attached to it)
gear; gearing; geartrain; power train; train (wheelwork consisting of a connected set of rotating gears by which force is transmitted or motion or torque is changed)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "engine"):
aircraft engine (the engine that powers and aircraft)
automobile engine (the engine that propels an automobile)
auxiliary engine; donkey engine ((nautical) a small engine (as one used on board ships to operate a windlass))
generator (engine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic induction)
heat engine (any engine that makes use of heat to do work)
reaction-propulsion engine; reaction engine (a jet or rocket engine based on a form of aerodynamic propulsion in which the vehicle emits a high-speed stream)
Derivation:
engineer (the operator of a railway locomotive)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An instrument or machine that is used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult, artillery piece, etc.
Example:
medieval engines of war
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("engine" is a kind of...):
instrument (a device that requires skill for proper use)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "engine"):
battering ram (a ram used to break down doors of fortified buildings)
arbalest; arbalist; ballista; bricole; catapult; mangonel; onager; trebuchet; trebucket (an engine that provided medieval artillery used during sieges; a heavy war engine for hurling large stones and other missiles)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks
Synonyms:
engine; locomotive; locomotive engine; railway locomotive
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("engine" is a kind of...):
self-propelled vehicle (a wheeled vehicle that carries in itself a means of propulsion)
Meronyms (parts of "engine"):
footplate (the platform in the cab of a locomotive on which the engineer stands to operate the controls)
buffer; cowcatcher; fender; pilot (an inclined metal frame at the front of a locomotive to clear the track)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "engine"):
traction engine (steam-powered locomotive for drawing heavy loads along surfaces other than tracks)
tank engine; tank locomotive (a locomotive that carries its own fuel and water; no tender is needed)
donkey engine; switch engine (a locomotive for switching rolling stock in a railroad yard)
steam locomotive (a locomotive powered by a steam engine)
shunter (a small locomotive used to move cars around but not to make trips)
pilot engine (a locomotive that precedes a train to check the track)
iron horse ((c. 1840) an early term for a locomotive)
electric locomotive (a locomotive that is powered by an electric motor)
dinkey; dinky (a small locomotive)
diesel locomotive (a locomotive driven by a diesel engine)
choo-choo (a child's word for locomotive)
Holonyms ("engine" is a member of...):
railroad train; train (public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive)
Derivation:
engineer (the operator of a railway locomotive)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Something used to achieve a purpose
Example:
an engine of change
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("engine" is a kind of...):
causal agency; causal agent; cause (any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results)
Context examples:
Cyclopenta[c,d]pyrene is primarily found in gasoline engine exhaust.
(Cyclopenta[cd]pyrene, NCI Thesaurus)
The room was situated over the laundry and was in the same building with the engine that pumped water, made electricity, and ran the laundry machinery.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I am a new man this morning; and, as I sit here and watch him sleeping, I can do all that is necessary both as to minding the engine, steering, and keeping watch.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
That hissing pant, as regular and full-volumed as the exhaust of an engine, spoke of a monstrous organism.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
They have come in two great galleys, answered the mayor, with two bank of oars on either side, and great store of engines of war and of men-at-arms.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A proprietary scoring engine from Matrix Science that can match tandem mass spectra with peptide sequences.
(Mascot Scoring Engine, NCI Thesaurus)
Nitromethane is used to make industrial antimicrobials and pharmaceuticals, and is also used as a soil fumigant and as a fuel in race car engines.
(Nitromethane, NCI Thesaurus)
“I’ll beat you out, and I hope you no worse than that you rack your old engines into scrap.”
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
He had set the engine at work.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
