rocket engine

/ˌrɑkət ˌɛndʒən/

Other forms: rocket engines

Definitions of rocket engine

1. noun

   an engine with its own fuel and oxygen and which propels something, such as a vehicle, through a controlled blast of gas
   synonyms: rocket

   types:

   booster, booster rocket, booster unit, takeoff booster, takeoff rocket

   the first stage of a multistage rocket

   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

   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

   type of:

   jet engine

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