aircraft
Americannoun
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aircraft
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aircraft
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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.
It also helps arrange travel by purchasing seats on commercial flights and reselling them, and in some cases has chartered aircraft.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Some believe it to be the wreckage of her plane, but others have expressed scepticism that it is an aircraft at all, with one theory suggesting it is a collapsed tree.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
County Fire had aircraft battling the blaze, including a Super Scooper, the Angeles National Forest said in a Facebook post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Data-center builders compete with the aircraft makers, energy producers and transportation companies for many of the same components.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
There weren’t any buildings nearby, and no aircraft were parked there during the day.
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.
