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

• plane
• aeroplane [chiefly British]
• airliner

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

While still rare, most airplane incidents occur while the aircraft is taking off or landing. —Staff Author, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

How do airplane toilets actually work? —Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025

In the first nine months of the year, Boeing delivered 440 airplanes, up from 291 in the same period last year. —Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2025

Lopez sent him a photo of them talking to each other on a red leather couch at the airplane hangar the previous year. —Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of aeroplane

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing airplane

• airplane mode

Rhymes for airplane

• abstain
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign
• cetane

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