parachute

American  

[par-uh-shoot] / ˈpær əˌʃut /

noun

1. a folding, umbrellalike, fabric device with cords supporting a harness or straps for allowing a person, object, package, etc., to float down safely through the air from a great height, especially from an aircraft, rendered effective by the resistance of the air that expands it during the descent and reduces the velocity of its fall.

2. parachute brake.

3. Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.

4. Informal.

   1. the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.

   2. golden parachute.

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verb (used with object)

parachuted, parachuting

1. to drop or land (troops, equipment, supplies, etc.) by parachute.

verb (used without object)

parachuted, parachuting

1. to descend by parachute.

parachute British  

/ ˈpærəˌʃuːt /

noun

1. 1. a device used to retard the fall of a man or package from an aircraft, consisting of a large fabric canopy connected to a harness

   2. Sometimes shortened to: chute.  ( as modifier ) See also brake parachute

      parachute troops

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verb

1. (of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft

2. (in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency

Other Word Forms

• parachuter noun
• parachutic adjective
• parachutist noun

Etymology

Origin of parachute

1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- ² + chute fall; chute ¹

Example Sentences

Astronauts can’t parachute to the surface, or climb down a rope ladder, or just beam themselves down from the Transporter Room.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

Your parachute should have no holes in it when you finally jump.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to repay the city for security put in place in response to the graffiti and other incidents such as parachute leaps.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

Zubrin’s balloons are dropped from airplanes, helicopters or drones, and fill with air like a parachute, absorbing the sun’s heat to stay buoyant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Another plus of parachuting experience was that early cosmonauts had to parachute thousands of feet after reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

• bounce
• bound
• dive
• drop
• fall
• hop
• plummet
• skip
• surge
• take
• top
• vault