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 Tesla became airborne, and crashed more than 100 feet into the opposing lane, eventually hitting a tree in a nearby school parking lot, police said. — Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, "Tesla Model S goes airborne on video, driver charged," 29 Aug. 2018 At one point in the video, two porta-potties slide on a sidewalk before one flips onto a van and the other becomes airborne. — Char Adams, PEOPLE.com, "WATCH: Fierce Winds Send Porta-Potties Flying Into the Air as Colorado Parkgoers Take Cover," 15 June 2018 In scenes captured on amateur video, the car is seen hitting a bump, then going airborne and landing in a cloud of dust. — John Leicester, The Seattle Times, "Man arrested after car-ramming at Lyon airport," 10 Sep. 2018 Gerba found that a single flush sent E. coli airborne and viable for at least four to six hours later. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Please, for the Love of God, Close the Toilet Lid When You Flush," 20 Aug. 2018 The stick cracked against the crossbar and snapped at the heel, sending its taped blade airborne and Capitals fans toward the exits. — Alex Prewitt, SI.com, "After Frustrating Game 4 Loss, Capitals Have Tall Task Ahead to Rebound," 18 May 2018 Aircraft launched by catapults can get airborne and with greater quantities of fuel and ammunition, giving them an advantage over Chinese planes, which rely on their own power when lifting off from the Liaoning's ski-jump. — Ben Westcott And Brad Lendon, CNN, "China's first homegrown aircraft carrier heads out for sea trial," 12 May 2018 The agency also needs to develop additional rules for night flights and reliable drone identification while the vehicles are airborne. — Andy Pasztor, WSJ, "Uber Ambitiously Eyes 2021 for Food-Delivery Drones Launch," 21 Oct. 2018 When the temperature and chemical conditions in the plumbing are just right, the legionella concentrations can skyrocket to the point that the bacteria can become airborne when someone turns on a faucet or shower head. — John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, "Ethics charges could hurt fight against Legionnaires' disease," 5 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.