airborne

adjective

air·borne | \-ˌbȯrn

Definition of airborne

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 controversy will shadow the president across Britain on Friday much like the 20-foot (6-meter) tall balloon depicting him as an angry baby that will be airborne for his visit. — Jonathan Lemire And Jill Colvin, chicagotribune.com, "Explosive Trump tabloid interview adds to chaos on 1st British visit," 13 July 2018 With a few flaps of those mighty wings, the condor is airborne, soaring and sailing for hours as high as 15,000 feet on its endless hunt for carrion. — Edward Kosner, WSJ, "‘A Brotherhood of Spies’ and ‘Above and Beyond’ Review: When Spies Took to the Skies," 12 July 2018 There are no ground or airborne delay programs in effect for Mitchell, according to the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Command Center. — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Drivers warned about hazardous road conditions as snow ends," 8 Feb. 2018 With a budget of approximately twelve million dollars, the freedom flights were the United States’ largest-ever airborne refugee program. — Hilton Als, The New Yorker, "Nilo Cruz’s “Exquisita Agonía” and What We Lose Through Dispossession," 4 June 2017 Simpson was already airborne when Washington contacted him at about the goal line, and of course – the rest is history. — Jim Owczarski, Cincinnati.com, "The No. 2 Cincinnati Bengals play in last 30 years: Jerome Simpson’s flip," 12 July 2018 This funds alliance operations, including joint training, an airborne early-warning system, and headquarters costs in Brussels and in active military theaters such as Afghanistan. — David S. Cloud, latimes.com, "Here's what you need to know about Trump's complaints to NATO allies about defense spending," 11 July 2018 Robbins writes that anthroponeses, or diseases passed from humans to animals, are one concern: Orcas are consistently exposed to airborne pathogens that their immune systems may not equipped to fend off. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Pacific Northwest Orca Population Hits 30-Year-Low," 10 July 2018 The Hawkeye is an airborne early warning and command and control platform. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Navy Once Shot Down One of its Own Planes on Purpose," 10 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'airborne.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.