Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A jet engine that propels aircraft by igniting fuel mixed with air taken and compressed by the engine in a fashion that produces greater exhaust than intake velocity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun aviation A jet engine in which forward motion forces air into an inlet, compressing it (as opposed to having a pump type device compressing the air for combustion with fuel), and where combustion is subsonic.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a simple type of jet engine; must be launched at high speed

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The ramjet is a device for using the interstellar hydrogen as a means for propulsion.

    I Don’t Understand ? Jack Varnell 2010

  • In addition there are two separate and distinct improvements to something called a ramjet, another rocket part, the blueprints of an experimental aviation cannon, a new atmospheric analyzer, and the formula for some sort of steel—this last, it seems, highly experimental.

    TOO MANY MURDERS Colleen McCullough 2009

  • These fields are maintained by a "ramjet" effect, energy picked up from interstellar gas as we mosey along.

    The Forever War Haldeman, Joe 1975

  • Bussard's "ramjet" design used magnetic fields generated by the craft to scoop up the tenuous gas of interstellar space.

    New Scientist - Online News 2009

  • Bussard's "ramjet" design used magnetic fields generated by the craft to scoop up the tenuous gas of interstellar space.

    New Scientist - Online News 2009

  • Bussard's "ramjet" design used magnetic fields generated by the craft to scoop up the tenuous gas of interstellar space.

    New Scientist - Space 2009

  • Bussard's "ramjet" design used magnetic fields generated by the craft to scoop up the tenuous gas of interstellar space.

    New Scientist - Space 2009

  • Once the plane is cruising at an altitude of 32 kilometers, ramjet engines common to military aircraft would kick in to take the Zehst hypersonic.

    Going Hypersonic Michelle Price 2011

  • Bussard ramjet - November 28, 2009 added by atkinson | Images mcs+ to rate

    Bussard ramjet | My[confined]Space 2009

  • The main idea now is to develop an engine which is able to take the aircraft from the tarmac to mach 6+ using basically one engine which combines a turbojet, ramjet, and last but not least a scramjet.

    X-51 Waverider Set to Fly This Fall - NASA Watch 2009

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