ramjet engine
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˈræmˌdʒɛt ˈɛnʤɪn/
- Specialized
:
motor ramjet
- Fei Lung-9 was similar in size to Fei Lung-7 and was launched by four solid rocket boosters and sustained by a boron-hydride ramjet engine.
Examples
-
The scramjet is a ramjet engine in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic.
Academic text (2001) -
The ramjet engine propels the aircraft by compressing air without any moving parts, using its speed to ignite fuel.
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Modern military jets often incorporate ramjet engines to achieve high speeds without the complications of traditional engines.
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Researchers are exploring new materials for the ramjet engine that could improve efficiency at hypersonic speeds.
Synonyms
1
9.4
A jet engine with no moving parts that uses forward speed to compress air and only works at high speed
A simple jet engine with no moving parts that only works when moving very fast
A simple jet engine that only works at high speed and needs a fast launch
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun-noun compound: 'ramjet' names a specific type of jet engine and 'engine' is the general category, so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the full meaning. The meaning is compositional (type-of + category) and follows common cross-linguistic patterns, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the words.
Etymology
Ramjet engine comes from the words ram and jet: the fast aircraft 'rams' air into the engine so the air is 'squeezed' and burned to make a hot 'jet' of gas that 'pushes' the aircraft. That's why a ramjet engine has no moving parts and must already be moving very fast to work.