preflight

1 of 3

adjective

pre·​flight ˈprē-ˌflīt How to pronounce preflight (audio)
: preparing for or preliminary to flight (as of an aircraft)
a preflight inspection

preflight

2 of 3

verb

preflighted; preflighting; preflights

transitive verb

: to inspect (an aircraft) before a flight

preflight

3 of 3

noun

: a preflight inspection of an aircraft

Examples of preflight 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.
Adjective
What To Know In an update on Monday, SpaceX shared new images of the V2 Starship being moved to the Texas Starbase for a series of preflight tests. Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 July 2025 For now, though, the explosion leaves SpaceX without a facility to support preflight testing on Starships. ArsTechnica, 19 June 2025
Noun
The airline only pays for hours in the air, meaning preflight procedures like safety checks are unpaid. Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Aug. 2025 About midnight, Tibbets ran the final preflight briefing. David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for preflight

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1945, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of preflight was in 1942

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Preflight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preflight. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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