wingman

wing·man | \ ˈwiŋ-mən

How to pronounce wingman (audio)

, -ˌman \

Definition of wingman

1a : a pilot who flies behind and outside the leader of a flying formation

b informal : a male friend or partner who accompanies and supports a man in some activity While guys find large groups of women intimidating, they think just a few together is the most inviting. If you hang out with a couple of friends, a guy would be able to approach you with a couple of his friends (i.e., wingmen), which would take the pressure off. — Cosmopolitan

Examples of wingman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Armored wingmen will operate alongside U.S. Army tanks and armored vehicles, doing dangerous jobs to keep humans out of harm’s way. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Ripsaw M5 Could Become the Army’s First Robo-Tank," 16 Oct. 2019 And Chalamet and Edgerton are both impressively convincing as the reluctant monarch and his boisterous wingman, the latter of whom is given not just physical ballast but real gravitas in this telling. — Ann Hornaday, Houston Chronicle, "Splendid visuals can't save dull Netflix drama 'The King'," 30 Oct. 2019 Two of his best teachers in the scoring art, noted Oates, were ex-teammates Steve Yzerman in Detroit and Brett Hull, his former wingman in St. Louis. — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, "Former Bruin Adam Oates adds points — and value — to players’ careers," 10 Aug. 2019 The robotic wingmen in the Air Force’s scenario are XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned drones built by Kratos Defense and outfitted with the Air Force’s Skyborg artificial intelligence system. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "F-35 Fighter Pilots Might Soon Fly With Robotic Wingmen," 23 May 2019 Hang with a friend who can be both a buffer and a wingman for you. — Amy Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "Ask Amy: Ghosted woman dreads pals’ wedding," 26 July 2019 The former vice president has a large well of good feeling to draw on — Democratic voters like him and admire his service, especially as President Obama’s wingman. — David Lauter, latimes.com, "A weak front-runner takes a hard punch as debates shake up the Democratic 2020 field," 28 June 2019 Patrick didn’t realize what a bad wingman Sancho made. — Suzanne Roberts, Longreads, "The Offer of a Two-Night Stand, When Just One Would Do," 15 July 2019 These forces, presented as diametrically opposed in the first game, have a much more symbiotic relationship in this one, personified as your semi-permanent wingman Malroth. — Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, "Dragon Quest Builders 2," 11 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wingman.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

25 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Wingman.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wingman. Accessed 8 December 2019.

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