airman

noun

air·​man ˈer-mən 

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 senior airman

b

: an enlisted person ranking above an airman basic and below an airman first class

Synonyms of airman

• pilot
• aviator

Examples of airman in a Sentence

her father was an airman who was shot down in Vietnam

Recent Examples on the Web

The Navy also met its target with 45,000 sailors, while the Air Force recruited nearly 33,000 airmen. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Rosenwald family resources helped provide the facilities that made possible the accomplishments of the Tuskegee airmen, and supported NAACP legal efforts that ultimately overturned school segregation. — Harold Pollack, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

Save for Snoopy, the military airman in literature is perhaps most famously personified by John Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s Catch‑22, a book Zinn would someday count among his favorites. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

There was a very real chance the bus could continue to slide, but Lara and four other soldiers and airmen rushed to help as the scene descended into chaos. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing airman

• airman basic
• airman first class
• senior airman

Rhymes for airman

• chairman
• chairmen
• lehrman
• cochairman

Kids Definition

airman

noun

air·​man -mən 

1

: pilot entry 1 sense 3, aviator

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