aerial

[adjective air-ee-uh l, ey-eer-ee-uh l; noun air-ee-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aerial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

noun

a radio or television antenna.

Football. forward pass.

Origin of aerial

1595–1605; 1900–05 for def 11; < Latin āeri(us) of the air (< Greek āérios, equivalent to āer- (stem of āḗr air¹) + -ios adj. suffix) + -al¹

Related formsaer·i·al·ly, adverbaer·i·al·ness, nounsu·per·aer·i·al, adjectivesu·per·aer·i·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for aerial

flying, airy, atmospheric, ethereal, lofty, vaporous, pneumatic, aeriform, aeronautical, birdlike

Examples from the Web for aerial

Contemporary Examples of aerial

What the people of Mosul now fear most is aerial bombardment of their own city.
Has the Kurdish Victory at Sinjar Turned the Tide of ISIS War?
Niqash
December 27, 2014
An aerial image shows what appears to be a spa, roiling water apparently carrying no nasty connotations.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built
Michael Daly
December 12, 2014
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 Life
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
And even that aerial effort is being shortchanged, military insiders tell The Daily Beast.
Drone ‘Shortage’ Hampers ISIS War
Dave Majumdar
November 18, 2014
This one, for instance, opens with aerial video of Kobani shot from an “Islamic State drone.”
An ISIS Hostage on the Dark Side
Jamie Dettmer
October 27, 2014

Historical Examples of aerial

This is another of the peculiarities of aerial construction and navigation.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
Lovers of aerial navigation have otherwise not much left to wish for.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
An aerial lattice spread about a portion of a six-mile hemisphere.
Invasion
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
The "grid" is connected to the aerial wire to intercept the radio waves.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
"Now let us see the aerial," he said, and led the way outside.
The Destroyer
Burton Egbert Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for aerial

aerial

adjective

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

noun

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

Word Origin for aerial

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aerial

adj.

c.1600, from Latin aerius "airy, aerial, lofty, high" (from Greek aerios "of the air, pertaining to air," from aer "air;" see air (n.1)) + adjectival suffix -al (1).

1902 (short for aerial antenna, etc.); see aerial (adj.).