ramjet

noun

ram·​jet ˈram-ˌjet How to pronounce ramjet (audio)
: a jet engine that consists essentially of a hollow tube without mechanical components and depends on the aircraft's speed of flight to compress the air which is supplied to a burner from which hot gases are discharged rearward

Examples of ramjet in a Sentence

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Traditional ramjet engines work by relying on the aircraft's speed to scoop up and compress air into the engine. New Atlas, 20 Dec. 2024 Sometime this year, the X-51, developed by a consortium that includes the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and Boeing, will test its air-breathing scramjet—or supersonic combustion ramjet—engine to achieve Mach 7, which is 10 times as fast as a conventional airliner. Erico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2010 Interstellar ramjets face challenges such as the sparse density of the interstellar medium and immense energy and fusion requirements. Victoria Corless, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2025 Those advantages also have a downside: ramjets are entirely ineffective at low speeds and are often accompanied by turbojets to handle subsonic flight, where the airspeed isn't enough to feed air-hungry ramjet engines. New Atlas, 20 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ramjet

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ramjet was in 1942

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Cite this Entry

“Ramjet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ramjet. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

ramjet

noun
ram·​jet ˌram-ˌjet How to pronounce ramjet (audio)
: a jet engine that depends on the speed of flight for the compression of the air it takes in rather than using a mechanical compressor

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