Adjacent Words

airplane definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets; "the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane" [syn: airplane, aeroplane, plane]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: alteration of aeroplane Date: 1907 a powered heavier-than-air aircraft that has fixed wings from which it derives most of its lift

Britannica Concise

Fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air, propelled by a screw propeller or a high-velocity jet, and supported by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings. An airplane's essential components are the body or fuselage, a flight-sustaining wing system, stabilizing tail surfaces, altitude-control devices such as rudders, a thrust-providing power source, and a landing support system. Beginning in the 1840s, several British and French inventors produced designs for engine-powered aircraft, but the first powered, sustained, and controlled flight was only achieved by W. and O. Wright in 1903. Later airplane design was affected by the development of the jet engine; most airplanes today have a long nose section, swept-back wings with jet engines placed behind the plane's midsection, and a tail stabilizing section. Most airplanes are designed to operate from land; seaplanes are adapted to touch down on water, and carrier-based planes are modified for high-speed short takeoff and landing. See also air foil, aviation, glider, helicopter.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. US = AEROPLANE.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(airplanes) An airplane is a vehicle with wings and one or more engines that enable it to fly through the air. (AM; in BRIT, use aeroplane) N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Cub, VTOL, adjustable propeller, aeroplane, afterburner, aileron, air ambulance, air controls, air scoop, air scout, aircraft, airfreighter, airlift, airliner, airscrew, all-weather fighter, ambulance, amphibian transport, antisubmarine plane, assault transport, astrodome, attack bomber, avion, avion-canon, balloon, bay, be airborne, beaching gear, biplane, blister, body, bomb bay, bomber, bonnet, bow, brace wire, bubble, bubble canopy, bubble hood, bucket seat, cabin, canard, canopy, cargo plane, cargo transport, cat strip, chassis, chin, club plane, coaxial propellers, cockpit, coke-bottle fuselage, control surface, control wires, convertiplane, cowl, crew compartment, crop-duster, cruise, cruiser, deck, dihedral, dive bomber, dorsal airdome, drift, drone, dual controls, ejection seat, ejector, elevator, elevon, escort fighter, ferry, fighter, fin, finger patch, flap, flit, float, fly, flying banana, flying fortress, flying machine, flying platform, freight transport, freighter, fuel injector, fuselage, gas-shaft hood, glide, glider, gore, grasshopper, ground-attack fighter, gull wing, gun mount, hatch, heavier-than-air craft, heavy bomber, heavy transport, helicopter, hood, hop, hover, hovercraft, hunter, hydroplane, instruments, interceptor, jackstay, jet, jet bomber, jet pipe, jet plane, keel, killer, kite, laminar-flow system, landing gear, launching gear, launching tube, leading edge, light bomber, light transport, liner, long-range bomber, longeron, mailplane, medium bomber, military transport, mobile command post, monoplace, monoplane, mosquito, multipurpose plane, nacelle, naval aircraft, naval bomber, navigate, night fighter, nose, observation plane, ornithopter, pants, parasol, parasol wing, pathfinder, patrol bomber, patrol plane, picket patrol plane, pilotless aircraft, plane, pod, pontoon, precision bomber, private plane, prop, propeller, propeller plane, radar picket plane, reconnaissance plane, rescue helicopter, robot plane, rotor plane, rudder, rudder bar, sail, sailplane, scout, scout plane, seaplane, sesquiplane, ship, ski landing gear, ski-plane, sky truck, slitwing, soar, spinner, spoiler, sport plane, spotter plane, spray strip, spy plane, stabilizator, stabilizer, stay, stick, stick control, stratofreighter, stratojet, stressed skin, strut, tail, tail plane, tail skid, take the air, take wing, tandem plane, torpedo bomber, torpedo strike aircraft, trainer, trainer-bomber, trainer-fighter, transport, triplane, troop carrier, troop transport, truss, turbojet, turret, undercarriage, volplane, wheel parts, wing, wing radiator