aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈer-ˌkraft 

plural aircraft

often attributive

: a vehicle (such as an airplane or balloon) for traveling through the air

Examples of aircraft in a Sentence

a company that manufactures aircraft

Recent Examples on the Web

Russia is known to have placed tires on the wings of its aircraft throughout the war, trying to fend off Ukrainian drone attacks. —Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 June 2025

Zelenskyy said that 34% of Russia's cruise missile-carrying aircraft were hit. —David Brennan, ABC News, 2 June 2025

The meeting comes after the two countries each launched large-scale drone attacks on one another over the weekend, including an audacious Ukrainian strike on Russia's bomber aircraft fleet. —Charles Maynes, NPR, 2 June 2025

But Earhart had actually stepped out of the rear of the aircraft, and a man whom Putnam had identified to the press as her mechanic could be seen sitting in the cockpit. —Laurie Gwen Shapiro, New Yorker, 2 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aircraft

• aircraft carrier
• rotary-wing aircraft

Rhymes for aircraft

• abaft
• camshaft
• crankshaft
• downdraft
• engraft
• priestcraft
• redraft
• schoolcraft
• spacecraft
• stagecraft
• statecraft
• updraft

Kids Definition

aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈa(ə)r-ˌkraft 

ˈe(ə)r-

plural aircraft

: a machine (as an airplane, glider, or helicopter) that can travel through the air and that is supported either by its own buoyancy or by the action of the air against its surfaces