aerial
[adjective air-ee-uh l, ey-eer-ee-uh l; noun air-ee-uh l]
- of, in, or produced by the air: aerial currents.
- inhabiting or frequenting the air: aerial creatures.
- operating on a track or cable elevated above the ground: an aerial ski lift up the mountainside.
- reaching far into the air; high; lofty: aerial spires.
- partaking of the nature of air; airy.
- unsubstantial; visionary: aerial fancies.
- having a light and graceful beauty; ethereal: aerial music.
- Biology. growing in the air, as the adventitious roots of some trees.
- pertaining to or used for, against, or in aircraft.
- supplied or performed by means of aircraft: aerial support; aerial reconnaissance.
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- a radio or television antenna.
- Football. forward pass.
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Origin of aerial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aerial
Contemporary Examples
What the people of Mosul now fear most is aerial bombardment of their own city.
An aerial image shows what appears to be a spa, roiling water apparently carrying no nasty connotations.
The crime-fighting penguins, says the trailer, are “masters of the skies, espionage, and aerial assault.”
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real LifeAsawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
And even that aerial effort is being shortchanged, military insiders tell The Daily Beast.
This one, for instance, opens with aerial video of Kobani shot from an “Islamic State drone.”
Historical Examples
This is another of the peculiarities of aerial construction and navigation.
Flying MachinesW.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
Lovers of aerial navigation have otherwise not much left to wish for.
In the Heart of VosgesMatilda Betham-Edwards
An aerial lattice spread about a portion of a six-mile hemisphere.
InvasionWilliam Fitzgerald Jenkins
The "grid" is connected to the aerial wire to intercept the radio waves.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
"Now let us see the aerial," he said, and led the way outside.
The DestroyerBurton Egbert Stevenson
aerial
- of, relating to, or resembling air
- existing, occurring, moving, or operating in the airaerial cable car; aerial roots of a plant
- ethereal; light and delicate
- imaginary; visionary
- extending high into the air; lofty
- of or relating to aircraftaerial combat
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- Also called: antenna the part of a radio or television system having any of various shapes, such as a dipole, Yagi, long-wire, or vertical aerial, by means of which radio waves are transmitted or received
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Word Origin
C17: via Latin from Greek aērios, from aēr air
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for aerial
n.
1902 (short for aerial antenna, etc.); see aerial (adj.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper