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

ZeroZero Robotics View 4 Images View gallery - 4 images Consumer drones are all just slight variations on the quadcopter design … right? —New Atlas, 3 Apr. 2025

Photograph: Anna Barclay/Getty Images Commercial quadcopters have been on the mainstream gadget scene for 15 years, proliferating across industries and among hobbyists. —Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2025

Deploying multiple drones including short-range quadcopters similar to those available in stores to the public, his platoon observed the opposing force’s tactical vehicles. —Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2025

Previous videos had shown such drones blasting Russian Mavic quadcopter bombers out of the sky. —David Hambling, Forbes, 11 Mar. 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