tailhook

noun

tail·hook ˈtāl-ˌhu̇k

variants or tail hook

: a retractable hook on the underside of the tail of a carrier-based airplane extended in landing to engage an arresting-gear cable on the deck of the carrier

Examples of tailhook in a Sentence

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After appealing to the base chaplain during basic training for a transfer to a less perilous job than catching the tailhook of planes landing on an aircraft carrier, he was assigned as a journalist to the Navy News Service in Vietnam. —