airframe
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of airframe
First recorded in 1930–35; air(plane) + frame
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 average cost of new F-35s, which are made by Lockheed Martin, are about $100 million a plane, including its airframe and engine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
It is in fact the airframe of a Boeing 737, but inside it's fitted out with sophisticated cameras and sensors and listening devices.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025
In developing any new jet, Boeing engineers provide not only the design of the airframe but also instructions on how all the parts must be put together: the configuration.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2024
As they ingest air from both the front and from the surface of the airframe, they don't have to work as hard to move the plane, so it burns less fuel.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024
She turned back steeply, lost no height, and swore again as the airframe shuddered, automatic flaps clattering alarmingly as the plane tried to decide what speed it was flying.
From "Code Name Verity" 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.
