Combustion - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

com·bus·tion

Audio Help [kuh

m-buhs-chuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the act or process of burning.

Chemistry.

a.	rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and, usually, light.

b.	chemical combination attended by production of heat and light.

c.	slow oxidation not accompanied by high temperature and light.

3.	violent excitement; tumult.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME (< MF) < LL combūstiōn- (s. of combūstiō). See combust, -ion

]

—Related forms

com·bus·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Combustion

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

com·bus·tion Audio Help (kəm-bŭs'chən) Pronunciation Key
n.

The process of burning.
A chemical change, especially oxidation, accompanied by the production of heat and light.
Violent anger or agitation: Combustion within the populace slowly built up to the point of revolution.

[Middle English, from Late Latin combustiō, combustiōn-, from Latin combustus, past participle of combūrere, to burn up, blend of com-, intensive pref.; see com- and ambūrere, to burn around (amb-, ambi-, ambi- + ūrere, to burn).]

com·bus'tive (-tĭv) adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
combustion

c.1600 (combustibility is attested from 1471), from O.Fr. combustion, from L. combustionem (nom. combustio), from comburere "to burn," from com- intens. prefix + *burere, faulty sep. of amburere "to burn around," actually ambi-urere, from urere "to burn, singe."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

combustion
noun
1.	a process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light
2.	a state of violent disturbance and excitement; "combustion grew until revolt was unavoidable"
3.	the act of burning something; "the burning of leaves was prohibited by a town ordinance" [syn: burning]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
combustion [kəmˈbastʃən] noun

burning
Example: the combustion of gases

Arabic:	احْتِراق ، اشْتِعال
Chinese (Simplified):	燃烧
Chinese (Traditional):	燃燒
Czech:	hoření, vznícení, spalování
Danish:	forbrænding
Dutch:	verbranding
Estonian:	põlemine
Finnish:	palaminen
French:	combustion
German:	die Verbrennung
Greek:	καύση
Hungarian:	égés
Icelandic:	brennsla; bruni
Indonesian:	pembakaran
Italian:	combustione

Japanese:	燃焼
Korean:	연소
Latvian:	degšana
Lithuanian:	degimas
Norwegian:	forbrenning
Polish:	spalanie
Portuguese (Brazil):	combustão
Portuguese (Portugal):	combustão
Romanian:	combustie
Russian:	воспламенение
Slovak:	spaľovanie
Slovenian:	izgorevanje
Spanish:	combustión
Swedish:	förbränning
Turkish:	yanma, tutuşma

See also: combustible

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

combustion Audio Help (kəm-bŭs'chən) Pronunciation Key

The process of burning.
A chemical change, especially through the rapid combination of a substance with oxygen, producing heat and, usually, light. See also spontaneous combustion.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
combustion

Burning; a chemical reaction that involves the rapid combination of a fuel with oxygen. (See oxidation and spontaneous combustion.)

[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Combustion

Com*bus"tion\ (?; 106), n. [L. combustio: cf. F. combustion.]

1. The state of burning.

2. (Chem.) The combination of a combustible with a supporter of combustion, producing heat, and sometimes both light and heat.

Combustion results in common cases from the mutual chemical action and reaction of the combustible and the oxygen of the atmosphere, whereby a new compound is formed. --Ure.

Supporter of combustion (Chem.), a gas, as oxygen, the combination of which with a combustible, as coal, constitutes combustion.

3. Violent agitation; confusion; tumult. [Obs.]

There [were] great combustions and divisions among the heads of the university. --Mede.

But say from whence this new combustion springs. --Dryden.

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