A Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering

This new edition of A Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering provides clear and concise definitions and explanations for over 8,000 mechanical-engineering terms in the core areas of design, stress analysis, dynamics, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics, together with newly extended coverage of materials engineering.

More than 550 new entries have been incorporated into the text, including alloy steels, biomaterials, ceramics, continuum mechanics, conventional drilling, graphene, metallic glasses, superconductivity, and vapour deposition, alongside over 25 additional line drawings and updated web links. It continues to be an indispensable reference for students of mechanical engineering and related disciplines such as aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, and civil engineering, practising engineers, and other professionals needing to understand engineering terms.

Marcel Escudier, Emeritus Professor, Department of Engineering, The University of Liverpool,Tony Atkins, Emeritus Professor, School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading

Marcel Escudier is Emeritus Harrison Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He has written many journal articles and two books, The Essence of Engineering Fluid Mechanics (Prentice Hall, 1998) and Introduction to Engineering Fluid Mechanics (OUP, 2017). He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute.


Tony Atkins was Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Reading and Visiting Professor at Imperial College. He authored over 150 journal articles and several books, including The Science & Engineering of Cutting (Elsevier, 2009). He was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.