airborne
Americanadjective
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carried by the air, as pollen or dust.
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in flight; aloft.
The plane was airborne by six o'clock.
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Military. (of ground forces) carried in airplanes or gliders: abn
airborne infantry.
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Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) supported entirely by the atmosphere; flying.
adjective
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conveyed by or through the air
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(of aircraft) flying; in the air
Etymology
Origin of airborne
Explanation
Something that's airborne is flying through the air. A soaring seagull is airborne, and so is a rock launched from a slingshot. If you've ever tried parachuting from an airplane, you've been airborne, sailing through the sky, and when the plane itself takes off from the runway, it becomes airborne. On a windy day at the beach, people's umbrellas and towels sometimes become airborne. Bourne here is the past tense of bear, or "carry," so when something is airborne, it's carried by the air.
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.
When heat and sunlight react with airborne emissions from wildfires, vehicles and industry, they create ground-level ozone pollution, which can damage lung tissue, cause breathing problems, trigger asthma attacks and lead to other health issues.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Terpenes such as pinene from pine trees, for example, can participate in reactions that generate tiny airborne particles.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Kay said the van, however, does have a direct line to air traffic control, but "by the time that conversation has happened, the jet is already airborne".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
On the Giants seventh snap at SoFi Stadium, Dart went airborne to pass when he was crunched in between two Rams defenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The program for Redwing included the first airborne drop of a thermonuclear device, which created an enormous fireball four miles in diameter when it detonated fifteen thousand feet over Bikini.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
