airman

noun

air·​man ˈer-mən 

plural airmen

1

: a civilian or military pilot, aviator, or aviation technician

2

: an enlisted person in the air force: such as

a

: an enlisted person of one of the four ranks below sergeant

b

: an enlisted person ranking above an airman basic and below an airman first class

Synonyms

• aviator
• birdman
• flier
• flyer
• pilot

Examples of airman in a Sentence

her father was an airman who was shot down in Vietnam

Recent Examples on the Web

Among those killed were three airmen from the Mountain Home Air Force base: Senior Airman Carlos V. Johnson, 23; Senior Airman Lawrence P. Manlapit III, 26; and Senior Airman Karlie A. Westall, 21. —Ashley Fredde, Idaho Statesman, 14 Mar. 2025

Guardian is the military's term for a member of the Space Force, comparable to airmen, sailors, soldiers, and marines. —Ars Technica, 13 Mar. 2025

Under Trump, Ukrainian airmen are stuck with pods whose programming may soon be out of date. —David Axe, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

The pursuit resulted in a shooting that left Teel-Scott dead and another airman with a gunshot wound on his hand. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing airman

• airman basic
• airman first class
• senior airman

Rhymes for airman

• chairman
• chairmen
• lehrman
• cochairman

Kids Definition

airman

noun

air·​man -mən 

1

: pilot entry 1 sense 3, aviator

2

a

: an enlisted person in the air force

b

: an enlisted person in the air force with a rank below that of sergeant

especially : one with the rank just below that of airman first class