engine running• He said it was accidentally gassed when he left his car engine running.• A big saloon car was parkedoutside the other door with its engine running.• The man who got out of it left the headlights full on and the engine running.• Keeping the engine running, I waited.• Leaving the engine running, he went and leaned on the railings.• Once I was outside, I left the engine running and ran back to close the gate.• Quite often though, through varioushit-and-missapplications, he would get one of the engines running.• Rescuers have tried unsuccessfully to drive them out into the open sea using a line of boats with their engines running.
engine of change/growth etc• An independent company, that is, with its two mainengines of growth showing definitesigns of maturity.• This time, it sits on a siding as other, more suitableengines of growth and prosperity speed by.• Towards the end, the engine of growth was overheating badly and the ride was increasingly bumpy.
Originengine
(1300-1400)Old Frenchengin“cleverness, machine”, from Latiningenium“abilities you are born with”