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.
When I was 16, my dad was transferred to McClellan Air Force Base, near Sacramento, Calif. We moved eight hours northwest to Carmichael, Calif. I was so upset.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Born in Cardiff in 1949 to a Royal Air Force officer and his wife, Sullivan first found a taste for business selling football programmes.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
“They can watch it on television,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
He has announced plans for a Trump Presidential Library in Miami featuring its own Oval Office and an Air Force One jet.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Groups underwent some of the testing at the Lovelace Medical Clinic and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
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.
