preflight

American

[pree-flahyt] / priˈflaɪt /

adjective

occurring or done before a flight.

a preflight briefing of the plane's crew.

noun

a preflight briefing or a ground check, as of an airplane.

preflight British

/ ˈpriːˈflaɪt /

adjective

of or relating to the period just prior to a plane taking off

"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

Etymology

Origin of preflight

First recorded in 1920–25; pre- + flight ¹

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.

No preflight meal orders or reminder that the airline has a new lounge at JFK you can get into with a trans-Atlantic ticket in Mint.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

However, during the months after returning to Earth, the length of his telomeres were discovered to be critically shorter than his preflight levels.

From Salon • Nov. 22, 2024

The soleus also showed a decrease in stiffness compared to preflight, but it did increase gradually over time on the ISS.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2024

With that as my only preflight instruction, I made my way to the bright red, 25-seat, open-sided TMZ tour bus.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2023

“No. Not since I got him to buy those preflight vitamin packs to ward off airplane-cabin viruses.”

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

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