fuselage

noun fu·se·lage \ ˈfyü-sə-ˌläzh , -zə- \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of fuselage

: the central body portion of an aircraft designed to accommodate the crew and the passengers or cargo — see airplane illustration

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Recent Examples of fuselage from the Web

Images of the crash site on Algerian TV showed the plane's tilted fuselage with smoke rising from it.

— doug criss, CNN, "5 things for April 12: White House, Facebook, Pope Francis, plane crash, Gulf Stream," 12 Apr. 2018
The Airbus fuselage is built with carbon-fiber reinforced plastic that calls for less fuel burn, easier maintenance and increased resistance to corrosion.

— stephen singer, courant.com, "Kaman, Airbus Mark New Collaboration Agreement," 9 Apr. 2018
In March 2017, for example, 10 dummies and a whole lot of luggage from an unclaimed baggage center in Alabama (really) were loaded into an airplane’s fuselage, which was dropped 14 feet onto hard dirt.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Watch NASA dummies crash test flying and falling vehicles," 8 Apr. 2018
Metal fuselage parts and small pieces of human tissue floated in a few feet of water, just below the service.

— CBS News, "ValuJet Flight 592 crash: FBI offers $10,000 for info on fugitive in deadly 1996 crash," 6 Apr. 2018
The aircraft's twin tail booms raised to a 60 degree angle off the fuselage for the feathered configuration, which allows the aircraft to topple over with its nose facing down in preparation for reentry.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Virgin Galactic Conducts First Rocket-Powered Flight of VSS Unity," 5 Apr. 2018
The Flying Tigers, known for the distinctive shark-teeth design painted on the fuselage of their P-40 fighters, carried out aerial battles against Japanese planes in the early stages of World War II.

— matt schudel, Washington Post, "Anna Chennault, secret Nixon envoy, Washington figure of ‘glamour and mystery,’ dies at 94," 3 Apr. 2018
Another company, Spirit AeroSystems, is having trouble delivering enough fuselage sections, and its problems aren't easily fixed.

— lawrence specker, AL.com, "Proposed Mobile plant puts Alabama at heart of Boeing-Airbus rivalry," 2 Apr. 2018
At Axalta competitor PPG Industries, engineers are applying experience gleaned from the development of high-tech coatings for airplane fuselages to the advanced new paint technologies.

— nathan bomey, USA TODAY, "Why self-driving cars will likely be light-colored," 29 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fuselage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of fuselage

borrowed from French, from fuselé "spindle-shaped" (from past participle of fuseler "to give the shape of a spindle to," going back to Middle French, derivative of fusel "spindle," diminutive of fus "spindle," going back to Latin fūsus, of obscure origin) + -age -age

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1909

in the meaning defined above

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