Meanings
plural turbofans
- aeronauticsA turbojet engine having a (usually ducted) fan that drives a stream of air that partly bypasses the turbojet portion; in high-bypass-ratio types, most of the thrust comes from the bypass portion rather than the turbojet portion, and this can be thought of in simplistic terms as that the turbojet portion drives the fan and the fan propels the aircraft.
Turbofans are always multispool engines.
2005, Ronald D. Flack, Fundamentals of Jet Propulsion with ApplicationsSynonyms: fanjet
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA turbojet engine having a (usually ducted) fan that drives a stream of air that partly bypasses the turbojet portion; in high-bypass-ratio types, most of the thrust comes from the bypass portion rather than the turbojet portion, and this can be thought of in simplistic terms as that the turbojet portion drives the fan and the fan propels the aircraft.
nounAn aircraft with such engines.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan airplane propelled by a fanjet engine
nouna jet engine in which a fan driven by a turbine provides extra air to the burner and gives extra thrust
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishturbinebf.
- Ancient Greekτύρβη (túrbē)bor.?
- Latinturba
- Latinturbō, ~binis
- Englishturbo-
- Englishfan
- Englishturbofan
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 渦輪風扇 /涡轮风扇
- 渦輪風扇 /涡轮风扇 (wōlún fēngshàn)turbojet engine
Finnish ohivirtausmoottori
- ohivirtausmoottoriturbojet engine
Polish silnik turbowentylatorowy
- silnik turbowentylatorowyturbojet engine
Spanish turbofán, turboventilador
- turbofánturbojet engine
- turboventiladorturbojet engine
Cite this entry
turbofan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbofan
“turbofan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbofan. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turbofan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turbofan.
Source: turbofan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.