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Synonyms

airdrop

American  
[air-drop] / ˈɛərˌdrɒp /

verb (used with object)

airdropped, airdropping

  1. to drop (persons, equipment, etc.) by parachute from an aircraft in flight.

noun

  1. the act or process of airdropping.

airdrop British  
/ ˈɛəˌdrɒp /

noun

  1. a delivery of supplies, troops, etc, from an aircraft by parachute

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to deliver (supplies, etc) by an airdrop

"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

Other Word Forms

  • air-droppable adjective

Etymology

Origin of airdrop

First recorded in 1945–50; air 1 + drop

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.

“We have to perform the airdrop as a surprise, so people don’t gather below,” Phille said earlier.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025

The UK has been involved in previous efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza – a method aid agencies have cautioned is an inefficient way to deliver supplies.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025

This was the largest coalition airdrop of the war: 14 aircraft from nine nations delivering 10 tonnes of aid.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2024

On Thursday, the Jordanian air force allowed a photographer for The New York Times on one of its planes to observe the airdrop of bundles of aid across northern Gaza.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2024

The closest thing I’d had to human contact since the airdrop, the distant lights triggered a flood of emotion that caught me off guard.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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.