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Showing results for airdrop. Search instead for airdropped.
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

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.

See Examples For:

“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

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

From BBC Apr. 9, 2024

A Times photographer went along on a Gaza aid airdrop.

From New York Times Mar. 31, 2024

The Canadian Armed Forces will also donate about 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, so they can be used to airdrop supplies into Gaza.

From BBC Mar. 9, 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

Efforts to reach people in areas still cut off are ongoing, with aid having to be airdropped into some places.

From BBC Dec. 6, 2025

The United States, France and others have airdropped tens of thousands of military-style meals into Gaza, but those deliveries have fallen far short of the 6.6 million meals that are needed each day.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 12, 2024

The U.S. military said that its planes airdropped more than 41,000 “meal equivalents” and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza, the hardest part of the enclave to access.

From Seattle Times Mar. 9, 2024

King Abdullah II of Jordan said on Monday that his country’s air force had airdropped “urgent medical aid” to a field hospital operated by the kingdom in the Gaza Strip.

From New York Times Nov. 6, 2023

Then adds, “A few years back, I remember hearing about a stranded cruise ship. They airdropped them Spam and Pop-Tarts. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have MoonPies.”

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

The result is that an average food delivery by truck costs $180 per ton, while airdropping is a whopping $16,000 per ton, according to a U.S.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 14, 2025

It also comes after Biden last week approved the U.S. military airdropping aid into Gaza.

From Seattle Times Mar. 7, 2024

The US Air Force has released footage of American cargo planes airdropping humanitarian aid into northern Gaza.

From BBC Mar. 6, 2024

The U.S. also began airdropping aid, which some aid experts said was insufficient.

From New York Times Mar. 4, 2024

Initially, the copycat protests consisted of individual students furtively leaving posters with those slogans on their campuses or airdropping fliers to strangers in public places — what activists called a “poster movement.”

From Washington Post Nov. 10, 2022

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