slipstream
/ˈslɪp.stɹiːm/ noun, verb
Forms slipstreams slipstreaming slipstreamed
- noun The low-pressure zone immediately following a rapidly moving object, caused by turbulence.
- noun (figurative, by extension) A generated advantage which makes forward movement easier.
- noun The relative wind experienced as a result of movement through air.
- noun (aviation) The airflow over a propeller-driven aircraft generated by the motion of its propeller(s).
- noun (uncountable, fiction) A genre of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries.
- verb To take advantage of the suction produced by a slipstream by travelling immediately behind the slipstream generator. “Although dangerous, over-the-road truck drivers sometimes slipstream with each other to save fuel.”
- verb (computing, transitive) To incorporate additional software (such as patches) into an existing installer.
Synonyms
Etymology
Compound of slip + stream. Fiction sense coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in 1989.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “slipstream”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details