engine room

plural engine rooms

1. nauticalA compartment on a ship in which the engine machinery is located.

   Synonyms: engineering

2. rail transportThe engine compartment of a diesel locomotive.

   For rigidity, two bulkheads are provided which are welded to the sides and underframe and which separate the cabs from the engine room.

   1958 September 28, “Swindon's First Main-Line Diesel Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 601

3. The source of power in a team or other group.
   1. figurativelyhobbiesThe midfield.

      When I look at what is going wrong for Liverpool at the moment, a lot of it stems from the engine room of the team - the midfield.

      2017 February 10, Mark Lawrenson, “Liverpool playing sideways and safe - why the Reds' midfield is misfiring”, in BBC

   2. figurativelyrugby unionThe pair of locks in a team.
   3. figurativelyrugby leagueThe front row.
   4. figurativelyentertainmentThe rhythm section of a steel band.

      And no steel band would be complete without its rhythm section or engine room, as the percussion section is known.

      2018, Polly Thomas, The Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago, Apa Publications, →ISBN