aerial

American  

[air-ee-uhl, ey-eer-ee-uhl, air-ee-uhl] / ˈɛər i əl, eɪˈɪər i əl, ˈɛər i əl /

adjective

1. of, in, or produced by the air.

   aerial currents.

2. inhabiting or frequenting the air.

   aerial creatures.

3. operating on a track or cable elevated above the ground.

   an aerial ski lift up the mountainside.

4. reaching far into the air; high; lofty.

   aerial spires.

5. partaking of the nature of air; airy.

6. unsubstantial; visionary.

   aerial fancies.

7. having a light and graceful beauty; ethereal.

   aerial music.

8. Biology. growing in the air, as the adventitious roots of some trees.

9. pertaining to or used for, against, or in aircraft.

10. supplied or performed by means of aircraft.

    aerial support; aerial reconnaissance.

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noun

• aerials
  plural

1. a radio or television antenna.

2. Football. forward pass.

aerial British  

/ ˈɛərɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling air

2. existing, occurring, moving, or operating in the air

   aerial cable car

   aerial roots of a plant

3. ethereal; light and delicate

4. imaginary; visionary

5. extending high into the air; lofty

6. of or relating to aircraft

   aerial combat

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noun

1. 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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aerialness
  noun
• superaerial
  adjective
• aerially
  adverb
• superaerially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aerials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aerial

1595–1605; 1900–05 aerial for def. 11; < Latin āeri ( us ) of the air (< Greek āérios, equivalent to āer- (stem of āḗr air ¹ ) + -ios adj. suffix) + -al ¹

Explanation

Things that are aerial are happening in the air: birds, planes, and missiles are all aerial things. When talking about things that are literally up in the air, you can use the word aerial. If a country sends planes to bomb another country, that's an aerial attack. In football, the passing game is called the aerial game. Anything light and airy can also be called aerial, and an aerial is a device that picks up radio or TV signals: it plucks them out of the air. So when you see the word aerial, just think "air."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aerial aerials

Garbo and his collaborators plan to continue following the aftermath with satellite imagery, aerial observations and tracking data.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Balaam said authorities also detected one “illegally flown drone” in the burn zone, posing a threat to the aerial firefight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

There was criticism from Reform Wales about the time taken in to bring in the army and aerial support.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Others thinking along similar lines include Drone Amplified, a startup whose unmanned aerial vehicles drop balls containing fire-starting chemicals to ignite controlled burns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

She performed forbidden aerial stunts over the airfield when she returned from a mission and got away with it.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Show your children aerials of courses from all over the world, and talk about how different courses can look along the Pacific coast, the Lowcountry of South Carolina or in the Scottish Highlands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Heavy snow in Livigno on Tuesday morning forced a number of postponements, including the women's snowboard slopestyle final and the men's and women's aerials qualifiers in freestyle skiing.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

Athletes use the pool to focus on training specific manoeuvres and aerials on the perfectly consistent man-made wave.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

How amazing we can be up close and then have soaring aerials using the drone and effectively use a snap cut.

From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2025

It was in the fourth block we came to, a tall, bland building with peeling blue paint and with television aerials sticking out from the verandahs.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie