engineering

noun

en·​gi·​neer·​ing ˌen-jə-ˈnir-iŋ 

1

: the activities or function of an engineer

2

a

: the application of science and mathematics by which the properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature are made useful to people

b

: the design and manufacture of complex products

software engineering

3

: calculated manipulation or direction (as of behavior)

social engineering

compare genetic engineering

Examples of engineering in a Sentence

This control panel is a good example of smart engineering.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hoshi leads Steve Blount, a trustee for the North Orange Community College District. Buena Park School District Aerospace engineering manager Michael Jensen is leading the Area 3 race with 56.23% of the vote. —Alexcia Negrete, Orange County Register, 9 Nov. 2024

Sana continues to focus on developing its ex vivo and in vivo cell engineering platforms and advancing its pipeline of product candidates. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024

Focus instead on including baseline AI skills, for example AI tools and use cases for your work, or prompt engineering skills. —Rachel Wells, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Steven Dunbar, an engineering supervisor, David Farley, a physicist, and Jeff Kaskey, a businessman, fought over the city’s District 3 council seat. —Kyle Martin, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing engineering

• biomedical engineering
• chemical engineering
• electrical engineering
• genetic engineering
• geotechnical engineering
• human engineering
• industrial engineering
• knowledge engineering
• mechanical engineering
• social engineering
• traffic engineering

Kids Definition

engineering

noun

en·​gi·​neer·​ing ˌen-jə-ˈni(ə)r-iŋ 

: the science or profession of developing and using nature's power and resources in ways that are useful to people (as in designing and building roads, bridges, dams, or machines and in creating new products)