rocket engine
5
3.6
- noun
- /ˈrɑkɪt ˈɛnʤɪn/
- Specialized
:
motor de cohete
- I think he was running a test on an old rocket engine, and one of the fuel cells burst.
- thermal rocket engine
- nuclear rocket engine
- new rocket engine
I've been kind of passionate about space rockets, rocket engines, space travel.
- I've been kind of passionate about space rockets, rocket engines, space travel.
- But we're harnessing whenever you're talking about rocket engines.
Examples
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NASA tests its rocket engines at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi these days.
Blog text (9) -
When it leaves the atmosphere, the inlet ducts close and the rocket engine consumes stored liquid oxygen.
Academic text (2001) -
The space station has rocket engines that allow it to change its orbit.
Fiction book (2002) -
And you expect and hope to find customers for this unbelievable plasma rocket engine that you're developing.
Blog text (8) -
To give just one example, SpaceX is testing 3D-printed parts for their rocket engines, and these parts have many benefits over traditional parts.
Academic text (2014) -
The LEM's descent rocket engine will be used in aborting the mission and getting them safely back to Earth.
-
Three federally funded projects are underway to develop new rocket engines that can make it more affordable to send payloads into orbit.
Academic text (1998) -
The spacecraft's rocket engine ignited, sending it soaring into the sky.
-
He studied the rocket engine design to improve the rocket's efficiency and performance.
-
During the launch, the rocket engine produced a loud roar that echoed across the launch site.
Synonyms
535
3.9
A vehicle with a powerful engine that carries people or cargo into space
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an engine that produces thrust for a rocket' is directly and transparently built from 'rocket' (a rocket vehicle) + 'engine' (a machine that converts fuel into mechanical energy). This straightforward noun+noun composition follows common cross-linguistic compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Rocket engine is a compound of rocket (a device that moves by throwing out hot gas) and engine (a machine that makes things move). So a rocket engine is an engine that carries its own fuel and makes a vehicle move by throwing that fuel out as hot gas, which is why it means 'an engine that makes a vehicle move by throwing out its own fuel as hot gas'.