There is an overlap in English between two meanings of the word "engineer": 'those who operate engines' and 'those who design and construct new items'. The word "engine" is also sometimes used to refer to a device that performs a particular task (not "work" in the physics sense). This usage is particularly prevalent in computer science, where terms like search engine, "3-D graphics rendering engine" and "text-to-speech engine" are common.
Typical car engines include reciprocating piston, rotary engines, orbital[?], straight also inline, horizontally opposed, V6, V8 up to V12. All of these configurations refer to the movement of the pistons within the cylinder block.
A special case is the air engine which is driven by compressed air.
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