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.
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
"In this context, the player has been invited to Istanbul to advance the transfer negotiations and undergo medical examinations," they added with a photo of Guendouzi on an aeroplane.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
He says: "I thought about it, I spoke to the wife and said do you mind if I go and play on an aeroplane? That was four years ago."
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
A 70-year-old man has died after a light aeroplane crash-landed at an airfield near Sherburn in Elmet.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2025
They asked for volunteers to learn to be aeroplane mechanics, and you can bet I stepped right up.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
