parachute
Americannoun
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parachutes
plural
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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.
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Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.
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Informal.
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the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.
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verb (used with object)
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parachutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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parachuted,
past participle, past
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parachuting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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parachutes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
parachuted,
past participle, past
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parachuting
present participle
noun
verb
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(of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft
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(in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
parachutesimple
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parachutessimple
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have parachutedperfect
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has parachutedperfect
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am parachutingprogressive
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are parachutingprogressive
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is parachutingprogressive
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have been parachutingperfect progressive
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has been parachutingperfect progressive
Past
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parachutedsimple
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had parachutedperfect
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was parachutingprogressive
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were parachutingprogressive
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had been parachutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parachute
1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- 2 + chute fall; see chute 1
Explanation
A parachute fills with air and breaks the fall of someone falling from an airplane. If your airplane is in trouble, and you need to jump, your best friend is a parachute. That's the device people jumping from airplanes use to slow down their falls. A parachute fills up like a balloon, slowing the person down so they fall to the ground gently and safely. People who jump out of planes for fun also use parachutes. When you do this, you're parachuting. Whether for fun or because of your plane's mechanical failure, parachuting is exciting.
Vocabulary lists containing parachute
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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:
"The amount of money paid in parachute payments will reduce and the amount of money going into the Championship will vastly increase," IFR chair David Kogan said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Clarets then received £48m in parachute payments.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
For relegation, this is the minimum value of being in the Premier League for the next season, minus the received parachute payment.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Troy has barely snapped a pic before he is forced to parachute into the Siberian wilderness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
In addition to his parachute, Powers wore a pack outfitted with survival gear, including emergency food, a hunting knife, and a .22-caliber pistol with a silencer attached.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Former Montana smokejumper — a firefighter who parachutes into rural terrain to contain wildfires — Sam Forstag is also hoping to go to D.C. as the state’s first Democratic member of Congress in 30 years.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
For nearly 25 years, GoPro cameras have gone underwater, glided with parachutes and slipped down ski slopes, allowing the adventurous to record images of their experiences.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
All three landed under good parachutes but two people collided with each other during the freefall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Glover recounted parts of the re-entry sequence, including a few moments before the main parachutes on their vehicle deployed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
The nights become quiet and the hunt for copper driving-bands and the silken parachutes of the French star-shells begins.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
He was parachuted into parliament in a by-election last month to take his place on the green benches and, weeks later, at the top of the greasy pole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Kenyon said he was a truly local candidate, not "parachuted in" like former MP Josh Simons.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Base jumpers parachuted from its heights, and a performance artist recorded himself teetering along a 1-inch-wide slackline strung between two of the properties’ 40-story towers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
There is speculation that a compromise candidate could be parachuted into the process at the behest of the Council's powerful five permanent members.
From Barron's
In July 1945, toward the end of World War II, American soldiers parachuted into North Vietnam with orders to find and to help Ho Chi Minh.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
But his fortunes have flipped: Keenan is now one of the most senior officials in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, parachuting into cases around the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
Approach this as a collaborative effort, not as a sister parachuting into his personal and financial life all guns blazing.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
In one striking photo, a kneeling US pilot is confronted by a Kuwaiti local, moments after parachuting from his jet.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
Rhodes joined the Army after high school and served for three years before being honorably discharged after a parachuting accident in 1986.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2025
Soon after she won the national parachuting championship in 1961, she was recruited for the female cosmonaut program.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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