blended-wing

adjective

blend·​ed-wing

of an airplane

: having a body shape that combines the functions of a wing and a fuselage

In blended-wing bodies, otherwise known as flying wings, the fuselage and wing function aerodynamically as a single unit.

—Eric Adams, Popular Science, October 2002

blended wing noun

The blended wing needs more lifting area than a conventional airliner to support its weight at the low speeds of takeoff and landing …

—Peter Garrison, Air & Space, September 2000

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

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