Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

zeppelin

1 American  
[zep-uh-lin] / ˈzɛp ə lɪn /

noun

  1. (often initial capital letter) a large dirigible balloon consisting of a long, cylindrical, covered framework containing compartments or cells filled with gas, and of various structures for holding the engines, passengers, etc.

  2. any rigid airship or dirigible.

Zeppelin 2 American  
[tsep-uh-leen, tsep-uh-leen, zep-uh-lin] / ˌtsɛp əˈlin, ˈtsɛp əˌlin, ˈzɛp ə lɪn /

noun

  1. Count Ferdinand von 1838–1917, German general and aeronaut: designer and manufacturer of the zeppelin.

Zeppelin 1 British  
/ ˈtsɛpəliːn /

noun

  1. Count Ferdinand von (ˈfɛrdinant fɔn). 1838–1917, German aeronautical pioneer, who designed and manufactured airships (zeppelins)

"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
zeppelin 2 British  
/ ˈzɛpəlɪn /

noun

  1. (sometimes capital) a large cylindrical rigid airship built from 1900 to carry passengers, and used in World War I for bombing and reconnaissance

"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 zeppelin

First recorded in 1900; after Count von Zeppelin

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.

Celmins’ 1968 drawings of old black-and-white photographs torn from history books — a 1930s zeppelin airship, Hiroshima’s nearly obliterated 1945 landscape — begin with a sheet of paper prepared with a ground of snow-white acrylic.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024

In groundbreaking work published last year, the Harvard team deduced that the stellar halo is tilted and elliptical in shape, like a zeppelin or football.

From Science Daily • Oct. 10, 2023

And Harper asks viewers to hurt themselves suspending their disbelief, most notably in an action sequence where Rachel jumps out of a plane and lands on a zeppelin called The Locker.

From Salon • Aug. 14, 2023

Arooj Aftab is an intriguing pick to close the weekend inside McCurdy Pavilion — an old zeppelin hangar converted into an auditorium — which tells you a lot about THING’s intentions.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2022

“You en’t got a zeppelin or a gyropter, have you?”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

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.