Definition

Noun: 1. A type of engine that produces forward thrust by expelling a high-speed jet of gas backward: A jet engine draws in air, compresses it, mixes it with fuel and ignites it. The resulting hot, expanding gases are expelled at high speed through a nozzle at the rear, creating a forward-propelling force based on Newton's third law of motion (for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction).

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The development of the jet engine revolutionized air travel.
  • Modern commercial airliners are powered by highly efficient turbofan jet engines.
  • The roar of the jet engine was deafening as the plane took off.

Advanced Usage

• "turbojet engine": The most basic type of jet engine, where all the air drawn in passes through the core (compressor, combustor, turbine, and nozzle).
  • Early fighter aircraft used simple turbojet engines.
• "turbofan engine": A common type of jet engine where a large fan at the front moves a significant amount of air around the core, providing quieter and more fuel-efficient thrust.
  • Most passenger planes today use high-bypass turbofan engines.

Variants and Related Words

• Turbojet (n): A synonym for a basic type of jet engine.
• Turbofan (n): A dominant type of jet engine for commercial aviation.
• Turboprop (n): A turbine engine that drives a propeller; it is related but not strictly a pure jet engine as most thrust comes from the propeller.
• Ramjet (n): A type of jet engine with no moving compressor, designed for very high speeds.
• Turbine (n): A key component inside a jet engine that extracts energy from hot gases to drive the compressor.

Synonyms

• Gas turbine engine: A more technical term that describes the core operating principle.
• Reaction engine: A broader category of engines, including rockets, that operate on the principle of reaction propulsion.

Related Phrases

• Jet propulsion: The method of propulsion used by a jet engine.
  • The principle of jet propulsion is based on Newton's laws.
• Jet aircraft: An aircraft powered by one or more jet engines.
  • The first successful jet aircraft flew during World War II.

Noun

1. a gas turbine produces a stream of hot gas that propels a jet plane by reaction propulsion