aerial

[ adjective air-ee-uhl, ey-eer-ee-uhl; noun air-ee-uhl ]

/ adjective ˈɛər i əl, eɪˈɪər i əl; noun ˈɛər i əl /

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See synonyms for: aerial / aerials 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.

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Origin of aerial

1595–1605; 1900–05 for def. 11; <Latin āeri(us) of the air (<Greek āérios, equivalent to āer- (stem of āḗrair¹) + -ios adj. suffix) + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM aerial

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

Words nearby aerial

aerator, aerenchyma, aere perennius, aeri-, Aeria, aerial, aerialist, aeriality, aerial ladder, aerial mine, aerial perspective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aerial in a sentence

There’s also a comparatively-more-complicated basketball mode, which tests players’ aerial skills with massive hoops that hover over the pitch.
Keep the football mode in ‘Rocket League,’ you cowards|Mikhail Klimentov|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
After she’d had her fill, she gamboled about with abandon, diving into fallen leaves, rolling in sideways somersaults, and doing impressive aerial flips.
How a sickly squirrel offered me unexpected comfort|Pam Spritzer|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
Relying on leaked architectural plans, the testimony of former project insiders, and drone aerial footage, Navalny narrates how Putin has built himself the world’s biggest private residence on an estate 39 times the size of Monaco.
Alexey Navalny Is Succeeding Where Putin's Other Opponents Have Failed. Why?|Michael Weiss|January 27, 2021|Time
The Pentagon spent hundreds of billions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance platforms, aerial drones and biometric tracking and still couldn’t effectively find enough Taliban fighters to hinder the group’s progress.
An unusual mission in Afghanistan, and the troops who suffered to carry it out|Greg Jaffe|January 15, 2021|Washington Post

The single seat eVTOL, which was showcased alongside an autonomous vehicle during GM’s keynote presentation at the virtual 2021 CES tech trade show, is the automaker’s first foray into aerial mobility.
The Cadillac personal drone is the cadillac of personal drones|Kirsten Korosec|January 12, 2021|TechCrunch
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
And even that aerial effort is being shortchanged, military insiders tell The Daily Beast.
Drone ‘Shortage’ Hampers ISIS War|Dave Majumdar|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
She was scared to death that the lightning would strike the house because of the radio aerial.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
You mentioned a lodging near your aerial castle (my sole object at Bath), and I shall be glad if you will secure it for that time.
Private Letters of Edward Gibbon (1753-1794) Volume 1 (of 2)|Edward Gibbon
A kind of summer palace illuminated by the rays of the rising Sun opened beneath our aerial gondola.
Urania|Camille Flammarion
We have never had either steam or railways, because we have always known of electricity, and aerial navigation is natural to us.
Urania|Camille Flammarion
I leaned back in the embrasure in a more comfortable position, so that I could enjoy more fully the aerial gambolling.
Dracula|Bram Stoker

British Dictionary definitions for aerial

aerial

/ (ˈɛərɪəl) /

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

aerial

Origin of aerial

OTHER WORDS FROM aerial

Words nearby aerial

Words related to aerial

How to use aerial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for aerial

Word Origin for aerial