seaplane

noun

sea·​plane ˈsē-ˌplān How to pronounce seaplane (audio)
Synonyms of seaplanenext
: an airplane designed to take off from and land on the water

Examples of seaplane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Two men escaped injury Monday after a seaplane went into the water of Orchard Lake, Michigan, local authorities said. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026 On this day in 1947, aviation pioneer Howard Hughes took the controls of the enormous Spruce Goose seaplane docked in Long Beach, California. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Oct. 2026 In 2010, a seaplane carrying Ted Stevens, likely the most powerful politician ever to come out of Alaska, crashed en route to a salmon lodge near Bristol Bay. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026 The neighborhood/area The Raa Atoll, where Joali is located, is under an hour by seaplane from the capital, Malé. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for seaplane

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of seaplane was in 1913

Rhymes for seaplane

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Browse Nearby Words

sea plain
seaplane
sea plantain
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Seaplane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seaplane. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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Kids Definition

seaplane

noun
sea·​plane ˈsē-ˌplān How to pronounce seaplane (audio)
: an airplane designed to take off from and land on the water

More from Merriam-Webster on seaplane

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for seaplane

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about seaplane

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