airplane
UK /ˈɛəˌpleɪ̯n/ · US /ˈɛɹˌpleɪ̯n/ noun, verb
Also a form of aeroplane
Forms airplanes airplaning airplaned aeroplane plane
- noun (chiefly US, Canada, Philippines) A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings: a fixed-wing aircraft with at least one engine or electric motor. “on an airplane”
- noun (usually) One that can carry a person or persons. “They use airplanes to deliver mail and supplies to the far northern villages.”
- noun Any of various small flyable objects that are notionally comparable to such aircraft but aren't powered. “toy airplane”
- noun (chiefly US, Canada, Philippines) A game to encourage small children to eat, in which the parent or carer pretends that a spoonful of food is an aircraft flying into the child's mouth; the spoonful itself. “Here comes the airplane! Open wide!”
- verb (intransitive) To fly in an aeroplane.
- verb (transitive) To transport by aeroplane.
Synonyms
Etymology
From air + plane as an alteration of aeroplane.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “airplane”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details