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

Anyhow, who cares about three rooms and two baths in an open floor plan if the open floor plan is decorated with sand dunes and airborne silt! —Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025

In airborne trials, Q-CTRL’s magnetic navigation system worked without any in-flight calibration maneuvers, a first. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025

The upcoming hearing, which will include public testimony under oath from four new witnesses, is the third in as many years since a fiery hearing in July 2023 reignited public fascination in mysterious airborne craft. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025

All that airborne guano is nature’s marine fertilizer, and scientists have been vastly underestimating how much seabird poop is actually fertilizing our oceans and coastlines. —Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2025

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