control surface

noun

: a movable airfoil designed to change the attitude of an aircraft

Examples of control surface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Aircraft-grade redundancy includes multiple backups for electric power, computing, and connections to flaps and other control surfaces. — IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026 In addition, Vectis further gooses the stealth by removing all vertical control surfaces. — New Atlas, 20 Sep. 2026 Open weights run locally with no vendor-side control surface, so no vendor can enforce a prohibition for you. — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026 Eliminating moving control surfaces could yield multiple advantages. — Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for control surface

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of control surface was in 1910

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Control surface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/control%20surface. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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