rocket engine
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Related to rocket engine: jet engine
rocket engine
n.
A reaction engine that contains all the substances necessary for its operation and is not dependent on substances such as atmospheric oxygen, drawn from the surrounding medium, and thus is capable of operating in outer space. Also called rocket motor.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rocket engine
n
(Astronautics) a reaction engine in which a fuel and oxidizer are burnt in a combustion chamber, the products of combustion expanding through a nozzle and producing thrust. Also called: rocket motor
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
rock′et en`gine
n.
a reaction engine, supplied with its own fuel and oxidizer, used to power an aircraft or spacecraft.
Also called rocket, rock′et mo`tor. [1930–35]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
rocket engine
An engine that contains all the substances necessary for its operation and is propelled by a jet of hot gases produced by burning fuel. Since they do not rely on the oxygen in the atmosphere, rocket engines can operate in space.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | rocket engine - a jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion booster rocket, booster unit, takeoff booster, takeoff rocket, booster - the first stage of a multistage rocket jet engine - a gas turbine produces a stream of hot gas that propels a jet plane by reaction propulsion nuclear rocket - a rocket engine in which a nuclear reactor is used to heat a propellant retrorocket - a small rocket engine on a larger rocket or spacecraft that is fired to slow or alter its course rocket, projectile - any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine space rocket - a rocket powerful enough to travel into outer space thruster - a small rocket engine that provides the thrust needed to maneuver a spacecraft |
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