Air Force

American  

noun

1. the U.S. department consisting of practically all military aviation forces, established July 26, 1947.

2. air force, a similar department in any military organization.

3. air force, (formerly) the largest unit in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

4. air force, a unit of U.S. Air Force command between an air division and an air command.

5. Sometimes air force the military unit of a nation charged with carrying out military operations in the air.

6. British. Royal Air Force.

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air force British  

noun

1. 1. the branch of a nation's armed services primarily responsible for air warfare

   2. ( as modifier )

      an air-force base

2. a formation in the US and certain other air forces larger than an air division but smaller than an air command

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Etymology

Origin of Air Force

First recorded in 1915–1920

Example Sentences

The company, founded in 2019, flew its first prototype, Quarterhorse Mk 1, in May 2025 during a short low-speed flight at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

The idea, according to an Air Force recruitment video: “The survivor’s mission is to return, with honor.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Hansen, who joined the CSA in 2009 following his career as a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, will be the first non-American to fly around the Moon.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

“We all know that past is prologue,” Weinstein, a former Air Force JAG officer and Reagan White House lawyer, told Salon.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

His Air Force career meant everything to him.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin