contrail

noun

con·​trail ˈkän-ˌtrāl How to pronounce contrail (audio)
: streaks of condensed water vapor created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes

Examples of contrail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Before descending to prevent contrails from forming, pilots must ask permission from the FAA tower first. Haley Rush, David Schechter, CBS News, 16 Jan. 2024 The camera pans to a view of the city from the taxidermist’s office: streaks of aircraft contrail piercing the sky, children queuing in formation on a volleyball court, the last bits of crimson daylight filtering into the valley. Hazlitt, 16 Nov. 2023 Tear-gas cannisters soared above us, the contrails spidering toward the earth. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023 For its part, American Airlines is also working on transitioning to sustainable aviation fuels and even reducing airplane contrails that exacerbate global warming. Justine Calma, The Verge, 28 Nov. 2023 The story also found that flights that avoided contrails burned 2% more jet fuel on their journey. Emily Price, PCMAG, 10 Aug. 2023 Gregg traces his fixation on the Western Flyer to his childhood growing up in coastal Georgia, where the sky was often coursed by contrails from Cape Canaveral. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Update 3: Jim Oberg follows up on how an unusual contrail caused a media sensation. IEEE Spectrum, 9 Nov. 2010 If there are no contrails or clouds surrounding it, the plane is moving against a completely uniform blue sky. Sara Nelson, Discover Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrail.' 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

condensation trail

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contrail was in 1943

Dictionary Entries Near contrail

Cite this Entry

“Contrail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrail. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

contrail

noun
con·​trail ˈkän-ˌtrāl How to pronounce contrail (audio)
: a stream of visible water or ice particles created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes

More from Merriam-Webster on contrail

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