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Synonyms

aircraft carrier

American  

noun

  1. a warship equipped with a large open deck for the taking off and landing of warplanes and with facilities to carry, service, and arm them.

aircraft carrier British  

noun

  1. a warship built with an extensive flat deck space for the launch and recovery of aircraft

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of aircraft carrier

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is in the Arabian Sea, could serve as a base of operations for boardings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

A fire broke out last month on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which has been sailing around the world for nearly 10 months—a near record deployment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Some of the Royal Navy helicopters now based at RAF Akrotiri were supposed to join the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales on her planned voyage to the North Atlantic.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier that has been part of Middle East war operations, arrived at the Croatian city of Split on Saturday, the US embassy said in a statement.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

This gave it a short runway above the mud—almost like taking off from an aircraft carrier.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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.