quadcopter

noun

quad·​cop·​ter ˈkwäd-ˌkäp-tər 

plural quadcopters

: a drone (see drone entry 1 sense 2) deriving lift from four separate rotors each oriented about a vertical axis : quadrotor

It's a quadcopter, meaning it's a miniature helicopter with four rotors; basically it looks like a giant four-leaf clover designed by Darth Vader.

—Lev Grossman

A remote control quadcopter-type model helicopter flew directly through the U.S. Coast Guard base at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville on Saturday afternoon …

—Eureka Times Standard (California)

Examples of quadcopter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The defense supply chain uses Taiwan’s semiconductor and AI strength to embed deep learning, autonomous navigation, and on-the-fly sensor fusion into nearly every new system, from small FPV quadcopters to command-and-control interfaces for PAC-3 and NASAMS. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025

In addition to massive deals on clothes, shoes, and cleaning tools, the event has markdowns on playthings for kids of all ages (seriously, from Ms. Rachel’s Herbie Huggable Lovey Security Blanket for infants to a quadcopter drone camera that teens will love). —Clint Davis, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025

One of the last formations to march past was an Army weapons-testing platoon accompanied by a number of small quadcopter drones. —Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

Its latest quadcopter, the Mini 5 Pro, looks like the best 249g class drone to date. —PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

quad entry 5 + -copter (in helicopter entry 1)

First Known Use

2004, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quadcopter

• adopter
• copter
• helicopter