airman

noun

air·​man ˈer-mən How to pronounce airman (audio)
plural airmen
1
: a civilian or military pilot, aviator, or aviation technician
2
: an enlisted person in the air force: such as
a
: an enlisted person of one of the four ranks below sergeant
b
: an enlisted person ranking above an airman basic and below an airman first class

Examples of airman in a Sentence

her father was an airman who was shot down in Vietnam
Recent Examples on the Web The United States military had designed and produced a wide variety of aircrafts—as one of the most respected and decorated airmen in the Army Air Forces, Blanchard knew this for sure—but this definitely wasn’t one of them. WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023 Davis-Monthan employs about 11,000 airmen and each year contributes about $2.6 billion to the Tucson-area economy, according to the Air Force. Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic, 3 Aug. 2023 When most of the U.S. bombers involved in the 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo had to abandon their planes over eastern China, families there successfully safeguarded the airmen. Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Nov. 2023 In April, the Justice Department charged a 21-year-old National Guard airman, Jack Teixeira, with illegally disseminating classified information, including sensitive battlefield data about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and revelations that the U.S. eavesdropped on allies such as South Korea. Time, 5 Oct. 2023 The last, a 22-year-old airman from California, went down with the plane. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2023 Wayne Lusardi, Michigan's state maritime archaeologist, is pushing to raise more pieces of a World War II plane flown by a Tuskegee airman that crashed in Lake Huron in 1944. CBS News, 23 Sep. 2023 The airmen were the nation’s first all-Black air fighter squadron. Corey Williams, Detroit Free Press, 18 Aug. 2023 The mission is part of a training exercise involving 70 aircraft and more than 3,000 airmen from seven countries — the largest readiness exercise in Air Mobility Command history. Courtney Kube, NBC News, 13 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of airman was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near airman

Cite this Entry

“Airman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airman. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

airman

noun
air·​man -mən How to pronounce airman (audio)
1
2
a
: an enlisted person in the air force
b
: an enlisted person in the air force with a rank below that of sergeant
especially : one with the rank just below that of airman first class

More from Merriam-Webster on airman

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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