combustion

Language: en

🇺🇸 /kəˈmbʌstʃən/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The process of burning something; a chemical reaction between a substance and an oxidant that produces heat and light.; A state of violent agitation or tumult; a disturbance.; Spontaneous ignition of a substance without an external source of heat.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

internal combustion enginespontaneous combustioncombustion chambercombustion processcomplete combustionincomplete combustion

Derivatives

combustcombustiblecombustiveprecombustionpost-combustion

Synonyms

burningincinerationoxidationignition

Commonly confused

ignition
EN: 'Ignition' is the act of starting combustion (the spark); 'combustion' is the ongoing process of burning itself.
combustible
EN: 'Combustible' is an adjective (or noun) meaning capable of being burned; 'combustion' is the noun for the process of burning.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the silent 'b' before 'ust' and the '-tion' ending: com-bus-tion, not 'combussion' or 'combustian'.

💬 Examples

  1. The combustion of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

  2. The controversial decision threw the entire community into combustion.

  3. The hay bales caught fire due to spontaneous combustion caused by internal heat buildup.