UAP

abbreviation or noun

ˌyü-ˌā-ˈpē 

plural UAP or UAPs

: unidentified aerial phenomenon, unidentified anomalous phenomenon

—used especially as an alternative to UFO or unidentified flying object

… UFO has been replaced by UAP. Scientists and government officials are using the new acronym in an attempt to get away from the stigma and assumptions of little green men that persist when people think of UFOs. Until recently, UAP stood for "unidentified aerial phenomena," but last year's National Defense Authorization Act tweaked the term to stand for "unidentified anomalous phenomena," a broader catch-all category.

—Cameron Joseph

UAP—unidentified aerial (or anomalous) phenomenon—is apparently now preferred over UFO, or unidentified flying object. Assertions have been made that people associate "UFO" with alien visitors, whereas the new "UAP" terminology can be more readily associated with additional phenomena, perhaps swamp gas.

—Matthew J. Sharps

Since 2017, my life has been dominated by efforts to help Congress and the public discover the truth about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), what many still refer to as UFOs.

—Christopher Mellon

Yet given the growing public clamor (and congressional clamor, for that matter) for information about UFOs, NASA felt compelled to provide the public with some answers. Consequently on Monday the federal agency launched a new study with 16 members for the purpose of determining the best way for NASA to further study what the scientists refer to as "UAPs" (unidentified aerial phenomena).

—salon.com

Examples of UAP in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First, the preferred term is UAP, as in unidentified aerial phenomenon, and second, maybe! —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024

UFOs—or, UAP, as they’ve recently been rebranded—have been back in the news a lot lately, thanks largely to a few true believers who think the government has been hiding evidence of extraterrestrials. —Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024

The 63-page document reviews government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024

The Pentagon released a report Friday outlining the U.S. government's historical record of UAP, or unidentified anomalous phenomena, the formal name for objects that had previously been known as UFOs. —CBS News, 8 Mar. 2024

Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick and his office have set about interviewing witnesses in the military while reviewing video, radar and other data backing up first-hand accounts of UAP for a report recently handed over to Congress. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2024

The under secretary of defense for intelligence and security and the director of the UAP office, known as the All‑domain Anomaly Resolution Office, agreed with the first recommendation, and said a more comprehensive policy is on the way. —Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2024

This makes clear the spiritual dimension of the UAP mythology. —Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023

In September 2023, the 16-member panel released a new independent study report, which recommended harnessing public trust of the agency alongside artificial intelligence programs to help sift through decades’ worth of UAP incidents. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above