aerial
Americanadjective
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of, in, or produced by the air.
aerial currents.
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inhabiting or frequenting the air.
aerial creatures.
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operating on a track or cable elevated above the ground.
an aerial ski lift up the mountainside.
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reaching far into the air; high; lofty.
aerial spires.
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partaking of the nature of air; airy.
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unsubstantial; visionary.
aerial fancies.
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having a light and graceful beauty; ethereal.
aerial music.
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Biology. growing in the air, as the adventitious roots of some trees.
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pertaining to or used for, against, or in aircraft.
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supplied or performed by means of aircraft.
aerial support; aerial reconnaissance.
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling air
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existing, occurring, moving, or operating in the air
aerial cable car
aerial roots of a plant
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ethereal; light and delicate
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imaginary; visionary
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extending high into the air; lofty
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of or relating to aircraft
aerial combat
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing aerial
Flying High: Aviation Words
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Elements of the Universe: Aer, Aero ("Air")
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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.
See Examples For:
Authorities insist they have pursued a range of measures to try to extinguish the flames and, in turn, the smoke – from aerial waterbombing to experimental weather modification.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Australia is boosting its undersea warfare capability by equipping its Ghost Shark autonomous submarine with "swarms" of aerial drones and sea mines, its defence ministry said Monday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
At its event in Texas, the company showed a Roadster performing a few aerial feats, including leaping over several other Tesla vehicles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Tuesday attack saw three aerial drones strike the deck and side of the Malta-flagged Chelsea 3, some 18 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian shoreline, Radev said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
On his hands and knees, he drags the aerial around the circumference of the cellar, as though roping Volkheimer into the golden armchair.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
LA local news stations regularly break into live programming to broadcast high-speed police pursuits from the air, fly over wildfires and show accidents, protests, and holiday traffic jams in often unscripted, real-time aerials.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
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
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
They moved on stealthily like stray cats, past chimneys, aerials, and Capricorn's floodlights, which were angled downward and left everything behind them in the cover of darkness.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
