I’ve heard these words used interchangeably over the years, with engine being more prevalent. Is there any difference? Why is a small gas-driven device like a lawnmower commonly said to have a motor, while what is under the hood of a car is almost always referred to as an engine?
In: 160
For the most part, they are interchangeable. However there is a distinction that may often affect which one is most appropriate to use.
A motor is something that moves, usually spins, and powers the movement of other components. A lawnmower has a motor because it moves the blades. An electric garage door has a motor because it moves the door up and down. A fan has a motor because it spins the fan.
Engines also move, usually spin, and move other components, but they do that specifically to *move* the thing they’re into, as in move it through space. Their purpose is locomotion. A car’s engine is an engine because it moves the car. A train engine is an engine because it moves the train. The engine’s primary function is locomotion.
However the distinction is also made between electric motors and gas powered (or steam) engines. Reciprocating engines are generally called engines (but can also be called motors) while electric motors are generally always called motors (and rarely ever engines).
So a diesel engine in a car? An engine. The same engine in a power generator? It’s a motor.
An electric motor in a lawnmower? A motor. A gas powered engine in a lawnmower? Still a motor, unless it’s a driving lawnmower in which case it’s an engine. An electric motor in a power drill? That’s a motor. An electric motor in an electric car? Well that’s still a motor because it feels weird to call it an engine.
**All engines are motors but not all motors are engines.**
Latest Answers