An external combustion engine (EC engine) is a heat engine where an (internal) working fluid is heated by combustion in an external source, through the engine wall or a heat exchanger. The fluid then, by expanding and acting on the mechanism of the engine, produces motion and usable work. The fluid is then cooled, compressed and reused (closed cycle), or (less commonly) dumped, and cool fluid pulled in (open cycle air engine).

"Combustion" refers to burning fuel with an oxidizer, to supply the heat. Engines of similar (or even identical) configuration and operation may use a supply of heat from other sources such as nuclear, solar, geothermal or exothermic reactions not involving combustion; but are not then strictly classed as external combustion engines, but as external thermal engines.

The working fluid can be of any composition and the system may be single phase (liquid only or gas only) or dual phase (liquid/gas).

Gas is used in a Stirling engine. Even single-phase liquid is sometimes used.^{[clarification needed]}

A combustion engine is an engine which generates mechanical power by combustion of a fuel. Combustion engines are of two general types:

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