airborne

adjective

air·​borne ˈer-ˌbȯrn 

1

: done or being in the air : being off the ground: such as

a

: carried through the air (as by an aircraft)

b

: supported especially by aerodynamic forces or propelled through the air by force

a plane becoming airborne

c

: transported or carried by the air

airborne allergens

2

: trained for deployment by air and especially by parachute

airborne troops

Examples of airborne in a Sentence

Once the plane was airborne I loosened my seat belt.

Thousands of airborne troops parachuted behind enemy lines.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Iran war has also diminished existing stocks of US missile interceptors, which the Pentagon plans to integrate with Golden Dome to form ground, sea, and airborne layers to go along with the space layer in low-Earth orbit. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 Apr. 2026

The work is being guided by state environmental regulations that govern the handling of asbestos and other hazardous materials that can become airborne, according to Jeff Auker, the city’s director of development services. —Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 24 Apr. 2026

The three-stage filtration system captures common airborne particles, while its 360-degree air intake efficiently pulls in and circulates air in rooms of up to 2,400 square feet. —Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026

Police said the vehicle hit a guardrail, went airborne, and crashed onto its side. —Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for airborne

• adorn
• blackthorn
• broomcorn
• buckhorn
• buckthorn
• careworn
• firstborn
• foodborne
• forborne
• forewarn
• forlorn
• forsworn

Kids Definition

airborne

adjective

air·​borne ˈa(ə)r-ˌbōrn 

-ˌbȯrn, 

ˈe(ə)r-

: supported or transported by air

airborne troops

Medical Definition

airborne

adjective

air·​borne -ˌbōrn 

: carried or transported by the air

airborne allergens

airborne bacteria