airborne

adjective

air·​borne ˈer-ˌbȯrn 

1

: done or being in the air : being off the ground: such as

a

: carried through the air (as by an aircraft)

b

: supported especially by aerodynamic forces or propelled through the air by force

a plane becoming airborne

c

: transported or carried by the air

airborne allergens

2

: trained for deployment by air and especially by parachute

airborne troops

Examples of airborne in a Sentence

Once the plane was airborne I loosened my seat belt.

Thousands of airborne troops parachuted behind enemy lines.

Recent Examples on the Web

The new environment-aware approach for airborne radar is designed to adapt in real time, greatly improving interference suppression. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025

As testing continues, the focus will shift from what is possible to how long these systems can stay airborne and how widely they can be deployed. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025

The first episode ends with an airborne shot pulling back from the paper’s headquarters to reveal a building on fire a few blocks away. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025

Musashi regularly rides jet skis and uses helicopter missiles like airborne surf boards, slicing up and exploding commandos and demons along the way. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for airborne

• adorn
• blackthorn
• broomcorn
• buckhorn
• buckthorn
• careworn
• firstborn
• foodborne
• forborne
• forewarn
• forlorn
• forsworn

Kids Definition

airborne

adjective

air·​borne ˈa(ə)r-ˌbōrn 

-ˌbȯrn,

ˈe(ə)r-

: supported or transported by air

airborne troops

Medical Definition

airborne

adjective

air·​borne -ˌbōrn 

: carried or transported by the air

airborne allergens

airborne bacteria