aircraft
Americannoun
-
aircraft
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aircraft
Compare meaning
How does aircraft compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A machine that can fly, held aloft in the air, is called an aircraft. Airplanes and helicopters are two types of aircraft. Some aircraft, such as helicopters, fly by using rotary wings — spinning blades that directly generate lift. Airplanes use engines to turn propellers or power gas turbines, providing the thrust needed to move air over their wings and create lift. Still other aircraft, including hot-air balloons, achieve lift through buoyancy, by using gases that are lighter than the surrounding air. Balloons and airships, including blimps and dirigibles, were actually the first vehicles referred to as aircraft, a term adapted from nautical terminology.
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.
Even before the summer rush, nerves were on edge; a January 4 breakdown in the communication system linking air traffic controllers and aircraft had laid bare a glaring weakness.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
After landing, the aircraft taxied to the gate, and emergency personnel met the aircraft upon arrival, per procedure.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The Cape Newenham site on Alaska's south-west coast is part of the Alaska Radar System, a network of remote sites that monitor aircraft approaching or operating in Alaskan airspace.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The radar site is part of a network that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along its borders, the military said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The American aircraft fly over Los Baños all the time now.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
