Meanings
- not comparableDescribing a power system in which a diesel engine powers an electrical generator.
1 more example
In the United States, where the railways are 90 per cent. dieselised today, diesel-electric power is the unvarying rule for independent locomotive units, and the only motive power exceptions are the highly successful 600-h.p. diesel-hydraulic railcars of the Budd "RDC" type, of which between 300 and 400 are now at work.
1958 April 28, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 268
plural diesel-electrics
- rail transportA diesel-electric locomotive.
Brush supplied shunters to industrial clients, but the first significant main line order came from the Ceylon Government Railway in 1950 for 25 diesel-electrics.
2021 June 30, David Clough, “Brush: a UK rail icon”, in RAIL, number 934, page 55
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna locomotive driven by the electric current generated by a diesel engine
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish dieselsähköinen
- dieselsähköinenTranslations
German dieselelektrisch
- dieselelektrischTranslations
Irish díosal-leictreach
- díosal-leictreachTranslations
Italian diesel-elettrico
- diesel-elettricoTranslations
Cite this entry
diesel-electric. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diesel-electric
“diesel-electric.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diesel-electric. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diesel-electric,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diesel-electric.
Source: diesel-electric on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.