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• jet
  jet

  noun

  a stream of a liquid, gas, or small solid particles forcefully shooting forth from a nozzle, orifice, etc.
• JET
  JET

  acronym

  Joint European Torus; a tokamak plasma-containment device at Culham, Oxfordshire, for research into energy production by nuclear fusion

jet

¹ American  

[jet] / dʒɛt /

noun

1. a stream of a liquid, gas, or small solid particles forcefully shooting forth from a nozzle, orifice, etc.

2. something that issues in such a stream, as water or gas.

3. a spout or nozzle for emitting liquid or gas.

   a gas jet.

4. jet plane.

5. jet engine.

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verb (used without object)

• jets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jetted,
  past participle,  past
• jetting
  present participle

1. to travel by jet plane.

   to jet to Las Vegas for the weekend.

2. to move or travel by means of jet propulsion.

   The octopus jetted away from danger.

3. to be shot forth in a stream.

4. to move or travel rapidly.

   The star halfback jetted toward the goal line.

verb (used with object)

• jets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jetted,
  past participle,  past
• jetting
  present participle

1. to transport by jet plane.

   The nonstop service from New York will jet you to Tokyo in 13 hours.

2. to shoot (something) forth in a stream; spout.

3. to place (a pile or the like) by eroding the ground beneath it with a jet of water or of water and compressed air.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or associated with a jet, jet engine, or jet plane.

   jet pilot; jet exhaust.

2. in the form of or producing a jet or jet propulsion.

   jet nozzle.

3. by means of a jet plane.

   a jet trip; jet transportation.

jet ² American  

[jet] / dʒɛt /

noun

1. a compact black coal, susceptible of a high polish, used for making beads, jewelry, buttons, etc.

2. a deep black.

3. Obsolete. black marble.

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adjective

1. consisting or made of jet.

2. of the color jet; black as jet.

jet ¹ British  

/ dʒɛt /

noun

1. a thin stream of liquid or gas forced out of a small aperture or nozzle

2. an outlet or nozzle for emitting such a stream

3. a jet-propelled aircraft

4. astronomy a long thin feature extending from an active galaxy and usually observed at radio wavelengths

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verb

1. to issue or cause to issue in a jet

   water jetted from the hose

   he jetted them with water

2. to transport or be transported by jet aircraft

jet ² British  

/ dʒɛt /

noun

1. 1. a hard black variety of coal that takes a brilliant polish and is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      jet earrings

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JET ³ British  

/ dʒɛt /

acronym

1. Joint European Torus; a tokamak plasma-containment device at Culham, Oxfordshire, for research into energy production by nuclear fusion

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jet Scientific  

/ jĕt /

1. A rapid stream of liquid or gas forced through a small opening or nozzle under pressure.

2. An aircraft or other vehicle propelled by one or more jet engines.

3. A jet engine.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• jetting
  present
• jetted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• jet
  simple
• jets
  simple
• have jetted
  perfect
• has jetted
  perfect
• am jetting
  progressive
• are jetting
  progressive
• is jetting
  progressive
• have been jetting
  perfect progressive
• has been jetting
  perfect progressive

Past

• jetted
  simple
• had jetted
  perfect
• was jetting
  progressive
• were jetting
  progressive
• had been jetting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will jet
  simple
• will have jetted
  perfect
• will be jetting
  progressive
• will have been jetting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of jet¹

First recorded in 1660–70; 1940–45 jet ¹ for def. 4; from Middle French jeter “to throw,” from unrecorded Vulgar Latin jectāre, from Latin jactus, past participle of jacere “to throw”

Origin of jet²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jet(e), get(e), from Old French jaiet, gaiet, from Latin gagātēs, from Greek (líthos) gagā́tēs “Gagatic (stone),” named after Gágai, town in Lycia

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Explanation

A jet is an airplane that can rapidly travel long distances. To jet is the act of getting somewhere quickly, by jet or any other way, as in, "Do you see what time it is? We better jet!" A jet is an aircraft that gets its power from jet engines rather than propellers. Jets are fast — that's probably why as a verb, jet means "to move quickly," either by taking a jet, like the celebrities who jet around the world, or the more ordinary "if I don't jet, I'll be late for school." Dishwashers and certain kinds of tubs have jets, tiny openings that push water out with great force. The streams of water are also called, you guessed it, jets.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jet JET jets jetted jetting

This causes a greater contrast with the warmer tropics which can fire up a more potent jet stream - the fast moving, narrow band of fast winds high in the atmosphere.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Typically in autumn the jet stream would be a regular visitor to the skies above the UK, steering wet and windy weather towards us.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

A big hurdle is getting enough jet engines, said Eveline Buchatskiy, managing partner of D3, one of Ukraine’s largest defense investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

During a conversation, they recognized that the same rule known to govern jet formation in relatively small black holes also seemed to apply to their supermassive counterparts.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

In the glow of the oil lamp, her eyes were as dark as jet, with the same mirrored sheen.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Once the experiments end, scientists will still have a lot to learn from JET.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2023

But opposition to JET does not only come from within the coal industry.

From BBC ● May 23, 2023

The acquisition gives JET a foothold in the U.S. market, but the newly merged company is already facing pressure to sell off Grubhub as JET’s stock continues to tumble on the Amsterdam stock exchange.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022

JET got close in 1997, generating a short, 1.5-second burst that reached two-thirds of the input power.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 9, 2022

JET There is more difference between thy flesh and hers than between jet and ivory.

From Shakespeare and Precious Stones Treating of the Known References of Precious Stones in Shakespeare's Works, with Comments as to the Origin of His Material, the Knowledge of the Poet Concerning Precious Stones, and References as to Where the Precious Stones of His Time Came from by George Frederick Kunz

The Daily Telegraph leads with reports that RAF jets had two close encounters with unidentified drones earlier this year while they were completing training exercises over the North Sea.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

One of the biggest mysteries the researchers wanted to explain was why black holes do not always launch jets at the same time.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Taiwanese fighter jets and two Chinook helicopters carrying giant Taiwan flags flew over the capital ahead of Lai's wide-ranging speech, which also covered housing pressure and the declining population.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

Noem was summoned before Congress over those scandals and others, including her alleged misuse of government funds on television advertisements and private luxury jets.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

She’s faster than lightning, and all of a sudden I get this wild idea that maybe I can catch her, so I put on the jets and start running as fast as I can.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

He has made climate accords with foreign nations, jetted to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping, and committed California to a net-zero “partnership” with China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

As they jetted away from San Francisco International Airport later that night, he said, “I guess I’m not a Beatle anymore.”

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026

Before he jetted out to the USA, Alsanawi spoke to BBC Newsbeat about how he became footballers' go-to hair stylist, and what it's like to travel with the team during a World Cup.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

They’d jetted in on separate planes, lest one go down.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

I jetted between the two rock fangs and found myself in a half-moon-shaped bay.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Had he made that announcement a few hours earlier, maybe Congress could have passed some sort of brief extension before jetting off.

From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026

Once seated and locked in, it nearly immediately takes off, jetting riders into a darkened hallway with white lights before injecting them into a Lego galaxy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

Instead of jetting of for an Italian ski trip with his wife, Stephens-Manassiev found himself alone and under fire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of their opening T20 World Cup match against Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday after being struck in the groin during training, with Steve Smith jetting in as cover.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

Milton had been jetting around during the two weeks, checking on his Hercules franchises, but on the Friday preceding the appointment he flew back to New York.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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