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Synonyms

flying saucer

American  

noun

  1. any of various disk-shaped objects allegedly seen flying at high speeds and altitudes, often with extreme changes in speed and direction, and thought by some to be manned by intelligent beings from outer space.

flying saucer British  

noun

  1. any disc-shaped flying object alleged to come from outer space

"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 flying saucer

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

In a work on paper, a flying saucer shoots neon-orange beams at a nuclear power plant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The early stages of the flying saucer age really is the story of the start of the Cold War.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2023

A flying saucer seen by a guest house, a 7ft alien-like figure coming out of a hedge and a "cigar-shaped" UFO near a school yard.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2023

In 1980, a popular book called "The Roswell Incident" by Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore described an alleged flying saucer crash and government cover-up 33 years prior near Roswell, New Mexico.

From Salon • Jul. 19, 2023

Behind us, the hat spun out into the morning air in a white blur, like a miniature flying saucer, and landed right smack in the middle of the highway.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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.