Adjacent Words

engineering definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the practical application of science to commerce or industry [syn: technology, engineering]
2: the discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems; "he had trouble deciding which branch of engineering to study" [syn: engineering, engineering science, applied science, technology]
3: a room (as on a ship) in which the engine is located [syn: engineering, engine room]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1720 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

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the application of science to the design, building, and use of machines, constructions, etc. Phrases and idioms: engineering science engineering as a field of study.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Engineering En`gi*neer"ing, n. Originally, the art of managing engines; in its modern and extended sense, the art and science by which the mechanical properties of matter are made useful to man in structures and machines; the occupation and work of an engineer. Note: In a comprehensive sense, engineering includes architecture as a mechanical art, in distinction from architecture as a fine art. It was formerly divided into military engineering, which is the art of designing and constructing offensive and defensive works, and civil engineering, in a broad sense, as relating to other kinds of public works, machinery, etc. Civil engineering, in modern usage, is strictly the art of planning, laying out, and constructing fixed public works, such as railroads, highways, canals, aqueducts, water works, bridges, lighthouses, docks, embankments, breakwaters, dams, tunnels, etc. Mechanical engineering relates to machinery, such as steam engines, machine tools, mill work, etc. Mining engineering deals with the excavation and working of mines, and the extraction of metals from their ores, etc. Engineering is further divided into steam engineering, gas engineering, agricultural engineering, topographical engineering, electrical engineering, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Engineer En`gi*neer", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engineered; p. pr. & vb. n. Engineering.] 1. To lay out or construct, as an engineer; to perform the work of an engineer on; as, to engineer a road. --J. Hamilton. 2. To use contrivance and effort for; to guide the course of; to manage; as, to engineer a bill through Congress. [Colloq.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Engineering is the work involved in designing and constructing engines and machinery, or structures such as roads and bridges. Engineering is also the subject studied by people who want to do this work. ...graduates with degrees in engineering. see also chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, genetic engineering