A petrol engine is a spark-ignition powerplant designed to run on gasoline. It draws in a combustible fuel-air mixture, compresses it, and ignites it using spark plugs, pushing the pistons down to create rotational force. These engines generally operate at lower compression ratios and higher RPMs than their diesel counterparts.
Heard on the job
We need to swap the fuel lines; this chassis is getting a petrol engine instead of the heavy diesel block.
Also heard as
- gasoline engine
- gas engine
Related terms
Diesel engine
An internal combustion engine that uses high compression to ignite fuel without spark plugs.
ICE
Blocking an electric vehicle charging station with a gas-powered car is a common parking offense.
Compression ratio
The mathematical ratio of cylinder volume at the bottom of the piston stroke compared to the top.