Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who thrusts or stabs; hence, a swordsman.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who thrusts or stabs.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who thrusts or stabs.
  • noun A device for propelling an object, especially a spacecraft or a ship (marine vessel).
  • noun nautical A bow thruster.
  • noun surfing A surfboard (usually a shortboard) with three fins of approximately equal size, one centred at the back, one on each side about 25cm forward and out near the rails.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small rocket engine that provides the thrust needed to maneuver a spacecraft
  • noun one who intrudes or pushes himself forward

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The surfboard sense was coined by Simon Anderson, who created the design in 1980. The name was almost immediately applied generically to any surfboard with that fin design, not just boards made by him. (He never patented the design or trademarked the name.)

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Examples

  • The Russian Hall effect thruster is one type of electric propulsion system particularly suited for near-Earth missions.

    Things We Used To Do - NASA Watch 2009

  • Our main thruster was malfunctioning, which called for an emergency landing, and I picked the least populated area in the vicinity.

    BY THE BOOK • by Aurelio Rico Lopez III 2008

  • CABBAGE: Apparently, the issue is with a thermostat that controls the heater on one of these so-called thruster jets that they use to keep the shuttle stable when it's docked to the space station or when it's in space and they are making inspections.

    CNN Transcript Jul 1, 2006 2006

  • Before the carbon nanotube cathodes developed by Georgia Tech can be used on satellites, however, their lifetime will have to be increased to match that of a satellite thruster, which is typically 2,000 hours or more.

    Space News From SpaceDaily.Com 2009

  • Before the carbon nanotube cathodes developed by Georgia Tech can be used on satellites, however, their lifetime will have to be increased to match that of a satellite thruster, which is typically 2,000 hours or more.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009

  • And ESA has also validated the concept behind the thruster, which is this double layer concept.

    Universe Today 2008

  • And ESA has also validated the concept behind the thruster, which is this double layer concept.

    Universe Today 2008

  • Known as a "thruster," the new engine fired continuously for ten minutes in a specially constructed vacuum test chamber that simulates the space environment.

    Another SpaceX Test Success - NASA Watch 2008

  • Known as a "thruster," the new engine fired continuously for ten minutes in a specially constructed vacuum test chamber that simulates the space environment.

    NASA Watch: December 2008 Archives 2008

  • Known as a "thruster," the new engine fired continuously for ten minutes in a specially constructed vacuum test chamber that simulates the space environment.

    NASA Watch: Keith Cowing: December 2008 Archives 2008

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