engine room

English

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Australia):(file)

Noun

engine room (plural engine rooms)

  1. (nautical) A compartment on a ship in which the engine machinery is located.
    Synonym: engineering
  2. (rail transport) The engine compartment of a diesel locomotive.
    • 1958 September, “Swindon's First Main-Line Diesel Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 601:
      For rigidity, two bulkheads are provided which are welded to the sides and underframe and which separate the cabs from the engine room.
  3. (figurative) The source of power in a team or other group.
    1. (sports) The midfield.
      • 2017 February 10, Mark Lawrenson, “Liverpool playing sideways and safe - why the Reds' midfield is misfiring”, in BBC‎[1], archived from the original on 22 May 2026:
        When I look at what is going wrong for Liverpool at the moment, a lot of it stems from the engine room of the team - the midfield.
    2. (rugby union) The pair of locks in a team.
    3. (rugby league) The front row.
    4. (music) The rhythm section of a steel band.
      • 2018, Polly Thomas, The Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago‎[2], Apa Publications, →ISBN:
        And no steel band would be complete without its rhythm section or engine room, as the percussion section is known.

Translations

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