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aeronautics

American  
[air-uh-naw-tiks, -not-iks] / ˌɛər əˈnɔ tɪks, -ˈnɒt ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

  1. the science or art of flight.

aeronautics British  
/ ˌɛərəˈnɔːtɪks /

noun

  1. (functioning as singular) the study or practice of all aspects of flight through the 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
aeronautics Scientific  
/ âr′ə-nô′tĭks /

  1. The design, construction and operation of aircraft.

  2. The scientific study of flight through the atmosphere.

Etymology

Origin of aeronautics

1820–25; < New Latin aeronautica or French aéronautique; aero-, nautical, -ics

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.

Emblematic of this is Toulouse in the south-west, home of France's aeronautics industry as well as a big student population and a classic French banlieue of high-rise estates.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Bertrand Vilmer, an aeronautics expert and consultant at Paris-based Icare Aeronautique, said Athens' largely analog-based systems "are robust, but ones for which there's no longer really any possible maintenance because they're old."

From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026

Saab’s aeronautics business, which includes its Gripen fighter jets, had a particularly strong quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

To some, the opportunity to be so close to some of the crowning achievements in aeronautics was personal.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2025

The five women took classes in astronomy and aeronautics.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.