aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈer-ˌkraft 

plural aircraft

often attributive

: a vehicle (such as an airplane or balloon) for traveling through the air

Examples of aircraft in a Sentence

a company that manufactures aircraft

Recent Examples on the Web

All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. —Darlene Superville The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 19 Mar. 2026

France Libre will carry more than 40 aircraft, including Rafale M fighter jets, E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and next-generation combat drones. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 19 Mar. 2026

Smaller unmanned aircraft don’t need a military airstrip to launch. —Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2026

In fact, the stainless-steel model channels what fliers would have experienced aboard the famed aircraft. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aircraft

• aircraft carrier
• rotary-wing aircraft

Rhymes for aircraft

• abaft
• camshaft
• crankshaft
• downdraft
• engraft
• priestcraft
• redraft
• schoolcraft
• spacecraft
• stagecraft
• statecraft
• updraft

Kids Definition

aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈa(ə)r-ˌkraft 

ˈe(ə)r-

plural aircraft

: a machine (as an airplane, glider, or helicopter) that can travel through the air and that is supported either by its own buoyancy or by the action of the air against its surfaces