helicopter
Americannoun
-
helicopters
plural
verb (used without object)
-
helicopters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
helicoptered,
past participle, past
-
helicoptering
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
helicopters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
helicoptered,
past participle, past
-
helicoptering
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
helicoptersimple
-
helicopterssimple
-
have helicopteredperfect
-
has helicopteredperfect
-
am helicopteringprogressive
-
are helicopteringprogressive
-
is helicopteringprogressive
-
have been helicopteringperfect progressive
-
has been helicopteringperfect progressive
Past
-
helicopteredsimple
-
had helicopteredperfect
-
was helicopteringprogressive
-
were helicopteringprogressive
-
had been helicopteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of helicopter
From the French word hélicoptère, dating back to 1885–90. See helico-, -pter
Explanation
A helicopter is a flying vehicle with a system of rotors that lift and propel it. In some cities, police officers patrol in helicopters. In some suburbs, wealthy people even commute by helicopter. Like airplanes, helicopters travel through the air — but unlike airplanes, they don't have wings. Most helicopters have a large rotor blade on top that creates lift by spinning rapidly. Smaller rotors help the helicopter move and steer. Hospitals use helicopters for transporting patients in crisis, for whom an ambulance might not move fast enough. The word comes from Greek roots, helix, "spiral," and pteron, "wing."
Vocabulary lists containing helicopter
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:
Boeing makes the Apache attack helicopter for militaries around the world.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Clavreul said he had asked the government to send a Chinook water-bombing helicopter that has been sent by Australia to help with France's wildfire crisis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
"I would get on a plane or helicopter tonight if it meant bringing him home to his mom and his siblings and his family," he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Achim was winched on board the Irish Coast Guard's helicopter, Rescue 117 and taken to Cork University Hospital.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Twice the crew had to set the helicopter down again and clear out air filters.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
It was also deploying helicopters to bring emergency supplies directly to survivors in isolated communities, the Antara state news agency quoted the commander of El Tari Air Base in Kupang as saying.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Two helicopters circled to drop rose petals over the Virgin Mary, which stands in a large crown with open arms, during Saturday's ceremony.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said two Swedish water-bombing aircraft and two helicopters, one from the Czech Republic and one from the Netherlands, were on their way.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Combined Resolve is a semiannual exercise focused on large-scale ground combat operations, in which rotating U.S. forces use armored divisions supported by ground troops, helicopters, drones and other military assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
We hear helicopters, but we don’t look up.
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Mass opposition and a coup briefly deposed him, but after three days under guard on a military island, he helicoptered back to Caracas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Instead, they recommended that Nusslock be helicoptered to UC San Francisco for an abortion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
I could not see anything and I was helicoptered out, before spending two weeks in a coma in an army hospital in Kabul.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2024
“Here’s the bottom line: When my predecessor got covid, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed,” Biden said.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2022
We next boarded a small Air Force plane, flew to JFK Airport, and were then helicoptered into Manhattan.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Wainschel, a vice president at an automotive marketing technology company, says he doesn’t think his outreach qualifies as helicoptering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The priciest dish on the menu tastes like roast beef with a little helicoptering from ginger and turmeric.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2023
He tumbled out of bounds at nearly 60 miles per hour, his skis helicoptering into the netting on one side of the slope.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2021
“Your moral stature is actually enhanced the more persecuted you are or want to be. It’s a generation of overparenting, protecting children from every conceivable harm, helicoptering over them and infantilizing them.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2021
A few fall, helicoptering down to the forest floor.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
