airplane

noun

air·​plane ˈer-ˌplān How to pronounce airplane (audio)
: a powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings from which it derives most of its lift

Illustration of airplane

Illustration of airplane
  • 1 weather radar
  • 2 cockpit
  • 3 jet engine
  • 4 engine pod
  • 5 pylon
  • 6 wing
  • 7 vertical stabilizer
  • 8 rudder
  • 9 10 tabs
  • 11 elevator
  • 12 horizontal stabilizer
  • 13 inboard flap
  • 14 inboard spoiler
  • 15 16 tabs
  • 17 aileron
  • 18 outboard flap
  • 19 outboard spoiler
  • 20 sound suppressor
  • 21 thrust reverser
  • 22 cabin air intake
  • 23 fuselage
  • 24 nose landing gear

Examples of airplane in a Sentence

my uncle learned how to fly an airplane while serving in the air force
Recent Examples on the Web The beleaguered company said its commercial airplane unit’s operating profit margin would plunge to around -20%. Chris Isidore, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024 Read: The carry-on-baggage bubble is about to pop Many people are wondering: What is going on with airplanes? Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024 The all-inclusive stay even features airplane charters to the property’s own private airstrip to make travel to the remote location a breeze. Shelby Wax, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024 With more than 200 flights daily from 30-plus destinations, getting here via airplane is relatively easy. Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2024 Anything right now that happens to a United airplane makes the news. David Koenig, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 In January, more than 100 people gathered at an airplane hangar in California to watch NASA unveil its X-59 demonstrator jet — a futuristic aircraft designed to travel faster than the speed of sound that has helped revive excitement for supersonic travel. Monica Rodman, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024 No one seems to care about a level of hostility that would never be allowed to escalate on other forms of transportation — on an airplane, for example, a setting just as cramped and prone to frustrated passengers. Michael Wilson, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 Based on undigested food that Dale Pike likely ate on the airplane, the pathologist said the time of death was consistent with sometime between 6 p.m. and 7:16 p.m. -- when Dale Pike was with Forti and when Knott was home at his dinner party. Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airplane.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of aeroplane

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airplane was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near airplane

Cite this Entry

“Airplane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airplane. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

airplane

noun
air·​plane ˈa(ə)r-ˌplān How to pronounce airplane (audio)
ˈe(ə)r-
: a fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft that is driven by a propeller or by a forceful stream of gases backward and is supported by the reaction of the air against its wings

More from Merriam-Webster on airplane

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