the U.S. department consisting of practically all military aviation forces, established July 26, 1947.
air force, a similar department in any military organization.
air force, (formerly) the largest unit in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
air force, a unit of U.S. Air Force command between an air division and an air command.
Sometimes air force the military unit of a nation charged with carrying out military operations in the air.
British. Royal Air Force.
the branch of a nation's armed services primarily responsible for air warfare
( as modifier )
an air-force base
a formation in the US and certain other air forces larger than an air division but smaller than an air command
First recorded in 1915–1920
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Kevin's fantastic, but he's got a board," he told reporters on board Air Force One.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I have a lot of patience... We'll see what happens," he said aboard Air Force One.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
"The first time I heard it I was expecting that the Nigerian Air Force... had come to rescue us," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Nike cruised on popular lifestyle sneakers—Air Jordan 1s, Air Force 1s and Dunks—for too long and fell behind on running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base had refused to allow further testing on women astronaut candidates for fear that the public would think they advocated women in space.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
A surface-to-air battery operated by Greek personnel in Saudi Arabia downed two ballistic missiles and a drone over Yanbu, the Greek air force media office said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
They expected that their vastly superior, Western-supplied air force would soon be able to bomb the Houthis to the negotiating table and that the rebels would quickly sue for peace.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The breakthrough came after researchers uncovered records from a public hearing in Puerto Rico, including a map drawn by air force pilots who had witnessed the crash, which helped narrow down the search area.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
France also dispatched its air force acrobatics team to the United States this month to mark the 250th anniversary.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
“One more time,” he said, “and then we better get out of here before they call the air force on us.”
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
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.
