airplane

noun

air·​plane ˈer-ˌplān 

: a powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings from which it derives most of its lift

Illustration of airplane

• 1 weather radar
• 2 cockpit
• 3 jet engine
• 4 engine pod
• 5 pylon
• 6 wing
• 7 vertical stabilizer
• 8 rudder
• 9 10 tabs
• 11 elevator
• 12 horizontal stabilizer
• 13 inboard flap
• 14 inboard spoiler
• 15 16 tabs
• 17 aileron
• 18 outboard flap
• 19 outboard spoiler
• 20 sound suppressor
• 21 thrust reverser
• 22 cabin air intake
• 23 fuselage
• 24 nose landing gear

Synonyms

• aeroplane [chiefly British]
• plane

Examples of airplane in a Sentence

my uncle learned how to fly an airplane while serving in the air force

Recent Examples on the Web

For the rest of her life, being on an airplane will remind her. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2024

The new array also allowed physicists to observe a thorium nucleus’ shape in groundbreaking detail, which the team compares to being able to view individual blades of grass from inside an airplane. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Sep. 2024

Like an airplane on a glidepath, the iPhone 16 series is there in the distant sky, slowly coming in to land. —David Phelan, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

No one, not even your baby themself, knows how a child will react to being on an airplane for the first time. —Noah Kaufman, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of aeroplane

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing airplane

• airplane mode

Kids Definition

airplane

noun

air·​plane ˈa(ə)r-ˌplān 

ˈe(ə)r-

: a fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft that is driven by a propeller or by a forceful stream of gases backward and is supported by the reaction of the air against its wings