flight path

American  

noun

1. the trajectory of a moving aircraft or spacecraft relative to a fixed reference.

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flight path British  

noun

1. the course through the air of an aircraft, rocket, or projectile Compare approach glide path

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Etymology

Origin of flight path

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Artemis 2 astronaut Jeremy Hansen felt like he was "falling out of the sky" as his spacecraft followed its complex flight path to the Moon, the Canadian said in a Saturday video call.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

Rankin explained many of his constituents live under the Heathrow flight path and were worried about aircraft noise as well as traffic congestion.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

“They’re back on their flight path with still some turbulence in the air,” Ives said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Along the shortest flight path between Moscow and Washington, D.C.—an arc known as the great-circle distance—Greenland sits midway.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

He walked a fine line filling out the form: making the launch date and flight path clear, while doing everything possible to "conceal state secrets."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir