dirigible
Americannoun
-
dirigibles
plural
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dirigible
First recorded in 1580–90 for the adjective and in 1885–90 for the noun; from Latin dīrigere, dēregere “to arrange, align, straighten, direct” + English adjective suffix -ible; see direct, -ible
Explanation
A dirigible is an airship, like a giant balloon in the sky that you can steer. Blimps and zeppelins are dirigibles. Dirigibles, also called airships, fly by being lighter than air. This works because a dirigible is like a big hard balloon filled with lighter-than-air gas, such as helium or hydrogen. You've probably seen dirigibles used in advertising, like the Goodyear blimp. A famous dirigible accident was the Hindenburg crash. The rock band Led Zeppelin was going to be called Led Dirigible, but it just didn't sound as cool. Just kidding.
Vocabulary lists containing dirigible
Ender's Game
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The View from Saturday
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
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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:
In a nod to the need for a military component, he suggested images of vessels, not people—a dirigible, a battleship and a submarine named Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
Walter Wellmann lifted off in the dirigible “America,” only to ditch it off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, when a storm hit shortly afterward.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2022
Other inventions, which never quite succeeded, included a sailboat with an adjustable mast, a dirigible, a fiberglass ukulele and a solid-foam football, with grooves in the surface.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2021
Lowman has also accessed the canopy using construction cranes and an inflatable raft attached to a dirigible.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2021
What he saw was the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
Located just across Fairfax from where the airfield once stood, the eye-catching spherical building’s design is, according to my Times colleague Carolina Miranda, “inspired by the dirigibles that used to touch down in the area.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
The federal government began to hoard the gas 100 years ago to ensure supplies for military dirigibles and later, the space program.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 5, 2023
The "Love Myself" slogan was even emblazoned on dirigibles flown over the musicians' hometowns in 2017.
From Fox News ● Oct. 6, 2021
The “Love Myself” slogan was even emblazoned on dirigibles flown over the musicians’ hometowns in 2017.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2021
It was one of the pioneer dirigibles, but at that time we thought of it as almost a miracle.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
