Otto cycle: Meaning and Definition of

Ot'to cy"cle

Pronunciation: [key]
— Thermodynam. Thermodynam.
  1. an idealization of the thermodynamic cycle of the internal combustion engine with air as the working substance: intake of air at atmospheric pressure, then adiabatic compression, then ignition with an increase of pressure and temperature at constant volume, then adiabatic expansion and performance of work, then a drop to atmospheric pressure at constant volume and a rejection of heat to the environment, then the exhaust of air at constant pressure.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.