thruster

noun

thrust·​er ˈthrə-stər How to pronounce thruster (audio)
variants or less commonly thrustor
: one that thrusts
especially : an engine (such as a jet engine) that develops thrust by expelling a jet of fluid or a stream of particles

Examples of thruster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But whenever the mission lifts off, Drew said SPARK has a good chance of doing well on Titan with its novel ion (electric) thrusters. — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 16 Aug. 2026 The satellite had deployed its solar arrays and was firing its thrusters. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 Through sporadic radio contact, engineers discovered a problem with some of the spacecraft’s cold gas thrusters used for finer attitude control. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026 Katalyst is now trying to stabilize LINK’s spin using the spacecraft’s xenon-gas thrusters. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for thruster

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of thruster was in 1597

Rhymes for thruster

See All Rhymes for thruster

Browse Nearby Words

thrust coefficient
thruster
thrust face
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thruster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thruster. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

thruster

noun
thrust·​er ˈthrəs-tər How to pronounce thruster (audio)
: one that thrusts
especially : an engine that produces thrust by discharging a jet of fluid or a stream of particles

More from Merriam-Webster on thruster

Nglish: Translation of thruster for Spanish Speakers

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