aeroplane
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of aeroplane
1870–75; < French aéroplane, equivalent to aéro- aero- + -plane, apparently feminine of plan flat, level (< Latin plānus; cf. plain 1), perhaps by association with forme plane; apparently coined and first used by French sculptor and inventor Joseph Pline in 1855
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.
He said: "I'll never forget going out of that aeroplane and falling through the air, but it was all over so quickly."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Multiple land and ground water assessments from the time make reference to the fire training area - where firefighters would practice putting out an aeroplane set on fire above a 'pond' of fuel.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
"It pains us when we hear an aeroplane flying overhead," Patni said, adding that their home was near the flight path of the airport in Ahmedabad, the main city in the state of Gujarat.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
"This is the blueprint of my life," said the actor, a lifelong aeroplane nut, who narrates the story.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
As the Wrights wrote Father, banking had always been a problem for earlier aeronauts who had tried to do that simply by shifting their weight around inside the aeroplane.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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.
