water injection

noun

The process of squirting a small amount of water, in the form of a fine spray, into the air/fuel mixture going into a gasoline piston engine, in order to cool the engine cylinders, and, thereby, reduce detonation or knocking in high performance engines, especially when using a high compression ratio.

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Meanings

nounwater injection (uncountable)
  1. uncountableaeronauticsThe process of squirting a small amount of water, in the form of a fine spray, into the air/fuel mixture going into a gasoline piston engine, in order to cool the engine cylinders, and, thereby, reduce detonation or knocking in high performance engines, especially when using a high compression ratio.
  2. uncountableaeronauticsThe process of squirting water into the combustion chamber of a jet engine to allow it to produce greater thrust, partly from the production of high-pressure steam and partly from the cooling effect of the water allowing the engine to burn a greater quantity of fuel without overheating.
Cite this entry
APA

water injection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20injection

MLA

“water injection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20injection. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “water injection,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20injection.

Source: water injection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.