aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈer-ˌkraft 

plural aircraft

often attributive

: a vehicle (such as an airplane or balloon) for traveling through the air

Examples of aircraft in a Sentence

a company that manufactures aircraft

Recent Examples on the Web

Russian leader Vladimir Putin deployed emergency aircraft to help with containment. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025

The fiery crash sent both aircrafts plummeting into the Potomac River, and 67 people were killed in the historic disaster. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 27 Apr. 2025

This includes advising on maintenance, airport operations and other practical considerations necessary for the aircraft’s success in everyday airline service. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025

Meanwhile, given Boeing’s dismal record of performance problems and cost overruns on both civilian airliners and defense systems like the Osprey aircraft and the KC-46 refueling tanker, accelerating spending on the company’s new F-47 combat aircraft program is not prudent. —William Hartung, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aircraft

• aircraft carrier
• rotary-wing aircraft

Rhymes for aircraft

• abaft
• camshaft
• crankshaft
• downdraft
• engraft
• priestcraft
• redraft
• schoolcraft
• spacecraft
• stagecraft
• statecraft
• updraft

Kids Definition

aircraft

noun

air·​craft ˈa(ə)r-ˌkraft 

ˈe(ə)r-

plural aircraft

: a machine (as an airplane, glider, or helicopter) that can travel through the air and that is supported either by its own buoyancy or by the action of the air against its surfaces