engineering

1. 1
   the professionnoununcountable

   The work and profession of using mathematics and science to design, build, and run machines, structures, and other technology, or the design and construction that result from it.

   Modern engineering has transformed how we generate and distribute electricity.

   The bridge collapse prompted a national review of engineering standards.

   UsageUsually with no article: she studies engineering. Kinds, places and periods go in front: civil engineering, German engineering.

2. 2
   designingverb

   Present participle of engineer.

   Scientists are engineering crops that can survive long droughts.

   The company spent years engineering a quieter engine.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every sense of the verb, not only the builder's. Scientists engineer organisms by altering their DNA, and a person can engineer an outcome by contrivance or guile, much like finagling or wangling it. As a gerund it can look like the name of the discipline, but the gerund usually takes an object: engineering a quieter engine, engineering a rival's downfall.

3. 3
   engine roomnoununcountable

   The onboard section of a ship that contains the engine.

   A fire broke out in engineering while the ship was at sea.

   The captain ordered the crew down to engineering to check the turbines.

   UsageUsed like a place name, with no article: go down to engineering, a fire in engineering.

Showing meanings only. Show all 4