: being or relating to a system of routing air traffic in which a major airport serves as a central point for coordinating flights to and from other airports

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Agency director Renee Wegrzyn announced earlier this month that the agency is pursuing a hub-and-spoke model with one hub to be based in the general vicinity of Washington D.C. and two others in locations yet to be determined. Joseph Morton, Dallas News, 28 Mar. 2023 Don’t hub-and-spoke your boss. Tom Chavez, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023 This overwhelmed its outdated flight management systems, which operate within a primarily point-to-point airport network, which is more vulnerable to disruption than the hub-and-spoke model used by other airlines. Laurie Garrow, Scientific American, 2 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hub-and-spoke.' 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

1980, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hub-and-spoke was in 1980

Dictionary Entries Near hub-and-spoke

Cite this Entry

“Hub-and-spoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hub-and-spoke. Accessed 31 May. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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