hang glider

noun

: a kitelike glider from which a harnessed rider hangs while gliding down from a cliff or hill
hang glide intransitive verb
hang gliding noun

Illustration of hang glider

Illustration of hang glider

Examples of hang glider in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Palestinians on motorcycles, in pickup trucks, and on hang gliders had managed something that not even foreign armies had done. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2023 The hosts also gave a glimpse into Roker’s WKYC field reporting days, including a clip of him with penguins at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and a clip of him on a hang glider. Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 11 Dec. 2023 The Israel-Hamas war began in the early hours of Saturday, October 7, when Hamas militants and their affiliates stole over the Gazan-Israeli border by tunnel, truck, and hang glider, killed 1,200 people, and abducted over 200 more. P. W. Singer, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2023 Palestinian guerrillas were trying to attack a country protected by one of the most powerful militaries in the world — with hang gliders that were scarcely more than kites retrofitted with propellers and engines the size of a lawn mower’s. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023 The publication noted that police received a call around 5 p.m. local time regarding a midair collision that involved a tandem paraglider and a single-person hang glider. David Chiu, Peoplemag, 18 Oct. 2023 As the Israeli army has stepped up its counteroffensive into the Gaza Strip, questions remain on how the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was able to use bulldozers, hang gliders and motorbikes to conduct the largest attack in 50 years against the most powerful military in the Middle East. Liam Collins, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2023 Hamas militants broke through the fences surrounding Gaza on Saturday morning, attacking Israeli soil by land, sea and air, using mechanized hang gliders and motorbikes to storm communities caught completely unaware. Guy Davies, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023 In 1987, the Israeli army was similarly caught off guard when two Palestinian guerrillas tried to fly giant red-and-white hang gliders some three miles across the country’s northern border with Lebanon, Time magazine reported. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hang glider.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hang glider was in 1930

Dictionary Entries Near hang glider

Cite this Entry

“Hang glider.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang%20glider. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hang glider

noun
: a glider which resembles a kite and from which a rider hangs while gliding down from a cliff or hill
hang glide verb
hang gliding noun

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