Wankel engine: Meaning and Definition of

Wan'kel en'gine

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. an internal-combustion rotary engine that utilizes a triangular rotor that revolves in a chamber (rather than a conventional piston that moves up and down in a cylinder): it has fewer moving parts and is generally smaller and lighter for a given horsepower. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.