airlift

noun

air·​lift ˈer-ˌlift 

: a system of transporting cargo or passengers by aircraft often to or from an otherwise inaccessible area

airlift transitive verb

Examples of airlift in a Sentence

an emergency airlift to deliver supplies to the famine victims

Recent Examples on the Web

More than 3,000 athletes from 50 states will compete, but only about 800 athletes were lucky enough to fly as part of the airlift. — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 19 June 2026

Cotter, who helped organize the first-ever helicopter airlift from Camp One to rescue some of the wounded, said many lessons were learnt from the disaster. — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

At the same time, expanded airlift from the United States is helping keep airfare competitive. — Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2026

Strategic airlift, with an objective of efficiently supplying a wide range of front-line commands with materiel specific to their operational needs over multiple domains and theatres globally. — Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for airlift

• adrift
• facelift
• festschrift
• forklift
• gearshift
• makeshift
• redshift
• sealift
• snowdrift
• spendthrift
• clift
• drift

Kids Definition

airlift

noun

air·​lift ˈa(ə)r-ˌlift 

ˈe(ə)r-

: a system of transporting cargo or passengers by aircraft to or from an area otherwise impossible to reach

airlift verb