as in pilot
one who flies or is qualified to fly an aircraft or spacecraft
her father was an airman who was shot down in Vietnam
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Recent Examples of airman
The roughly 93-square-mile base houses the 49th Wing, which supports national security work and includes combat-ready airmen and guardians, according to its website.
—
CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Three of the airmen were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and three were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 16 Mar. 2026
Pruitt and five other airmen were aboard a KC-135 refueling tanker aircraft in western Iraq March 12 when the plane crashed in what military officials said was an accidental mid-air collision.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 15 Mar. 2026
How many soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and innocent bystanders must die or be horribly wounded to satisfy our hubris?
—Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for airman
CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Three of the airmen were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and three were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
—Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 16 Mar. 2026
Pruitt and five other airmen were aboard a KC-135 refueling tanker aircraft in western Iraq March 12 when the plane crashed in what military officials said was an accidental mid-air collision.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 15 Mar. 2026
How many soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and innocent bystanders must die or be horribly wounded to satisfy our hubris?
—Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for airman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for airman
Noun
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In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration set up a new process for air tour operators in Hawaii wanting to fly at lower altitudes, including recommendations for pilot training and qualifications, as well as aircraft equipment.—
JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Brendan Stewart of Waukegan earned his pilot’s license 11 years ago, purchased a single-engine, two-seat plane, and flies it out of Waukegan National Airport.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the mission commander with aviator John Shoffner as pilot and two mission specialist seats paid for by the Saudi Space Commission, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Mar. 2026
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The city, founded by aviator Glenn Curtiss in 1926, has one of the largest collections of Moorish Revival architecture in the United States.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Airman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/airman. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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