Adjacent Words

aviation definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the aggregation of a country's military aircraft [syn: aviation, air power]
2: the operation of aircraft to provide transportation
3: the art of operating aircraft [syn: aviation, airmanship]
4: travel via aircraft; "air travel involves too much waiting in airports"; "if you've time to spare go by air" [syn: air travel, aviation, air]

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French, from Latin avis Date: 1866 1. the operation of heavier-than-air aircraft 2. military airplanes 3. airplane manufacture, development, and design

Britannica Concise

Development and operation of heavier-than-air aircraft. In 1783 the balloon became the first aircraft to carry humans. Production of a successful glider in 1891 and refinement of the internal combustion engine led to the first successful engine-powered airplane flight by W. and O. Wright in 1903. World War I accelerated the expansion of aviation, and in the 1920s the first small airlines began carrying mail and passengers. World War II was another period of innovation in aircraft size, speed, and range. In the late 1940s the jet engine made possible the subsequent development of commercial airlines throughout the world. See also airship, helicopter, seaplane.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the skill or practice of operating aircraft. 2 aircraft manufacture. Etymology: F f. L avis bird

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Aviation A`vi*a"tion, n. The art or science of flying.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Aviation is the operation and production of aircraft.