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.

Their kids, ages 8 and 12, were too busy playing “Mario Kart” and “Crash Bandicoot” at the lounge’s videogame stations to commandeer their phones for some preflight screen time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

It took more than a year for SpaceX to resume flights from a launchpad at Cape Canaveral after a preflight explosion destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket in 2016.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

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

In a performance-based approach, objectives tools measuring biometric data like sleep patterns or cognitive testing measuring working memory aim to help a pilot inform their preflight health assessment.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023

The agency sent a film crew to each of the remote tracking stations, recording the communications teams as they completed their preflight checkouts.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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