'Traction engine' definitions:
Definition of 'traction engine'
From: WordNet
noun
Steam-powered locomotive for drawing heavy loads along surfaces other than tracks
Definition of 'Traction engine'
From: GCIDE
- Traction \Trac"tion\, n. [L. trahere, tractum, to draw: cf. F. traction.]
- 1. The act of drawing, or the state of being drawn; as, the traction of a muscle. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Specifically, the act of drawing a body along a plane by motive power, as the drawing of a carriage by men or horses, the towing of a boat by a tug. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Attraction; a drawing toward. [R.] [1913 Webster]
- 4. The adhesive friction of a wheel on a rail, a rope on a pulley, or the like; as, the car is stuck in the snow because it can;t get any traction. --Knight. [1913 Webster +PJC]
- Angle of traction (Mech.), the angle made with a given plane by the line of direction in which a tractive force acts.
- Traction engine, a locomotive for drawing vehicles on highways or in the fields. [1913 Webster]