autorotation

American

[aw-toh-roh-tay-shuhn] / ˌɔ toʊ roʊˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

Aeronautics.

the condition of flight occurring when lift is derived solely from the action of air upon the unpowered rotor of a moving helicopter or autogiro.

autorotation British

/ ˌɔːtəʊrəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

the continuous rotation of a body in an airflow, such as that of the rotor blades of a helicopter in an unpowered descent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

autorotational

adjective

Etymology

Origin of autorotation

First recorded in 1915–20; auto- ¹ + rotation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

autorotation

That is to stay above police helicopters, under commercial flights, and still have enough space in case they need to perform an emergency autorotation procedure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

If the supporting beam fails, the station will drift down gently, supported by the autorotation of its blades.

From Time Magazine Archive

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023