airlift

American  

[air-lift] / ˈɛərˌlɪft /

noun

1. a system for transporting persons or cargo by aircraft, especially in an emergency.

2. the persons or cargo so transported.

3. the act or process of transporting such a load.

4. a pump for raising liquids by the pressure of air forced into the pump chamber.

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verb (used with object)

• airlifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• airlifted,
  past participle,  past
• airlifting
  present participle

1. to transport (persons or cargo) by airlift.

adjective

1. of or relating to an airlift or airlifts.

   to increase the army's airlift capacity.

airlift British  

/ ˈɛəˌlɪft /

noun

1. the transportation by air of passengers, troops, cargo, etc, esp when other routes are blocked

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verb

1. (tr) to transport by an airlift

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• airlifting
  present
• airlifted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• airlift
  simple
• airlifts
  simple
• have airlifted
  perfect
• has airlifted
  perfect
• am airlifting
  progressive
• are airlifting
  progressive
• is airlifting
  progressive
• have been airlifting
  perfect progressive
• has been airlifting
  perfect progressive

Past

• airlifted
  simple
• had airlifted
  perfect
• was airlifting
  progressive
• were airlifting
  progressive
• had been airlifting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will airlift
  simple
• will have airlifted
  perfect
• will be airlifting
  progressive
• will have been airlifting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of airlift

First recorded in 1940–45; air ¹ + lift

Explanation

When a military plane is used to deliver supplies or move people, it's called an airlift. After a major earthquake, airlifts can bring in clean water and food to people in the affected area. Whether they're removing citizens from dangerous situations or providing aid to victims of natural disasters, airlifts are useful in an emergency. Enormous military aircraft can hold a large quantity of supplies and deliver them quickly, even at great distances. As a verb, airlift means "fly to safety," so a government might airlift its embassy workers out of a country where war has suddenly broken out.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

airlift airlifts airlifted airlifting

This involved the airlift of dozens of people in Phantom Ranch, one of the park's hardest-hit areas, he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Emergency responders on Saturday had to airlift 50 people to safety as the Summerland wildfire forced overnight evacuations, CTV News reported.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

In Ituri, United Nations peacekeepers, in the country to battle Islamic State and protect civilians, have to airlift supplies and health workers to field hospitals battling the Ebola outbreak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

He said British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and the government will keep working with partners to "increase the speed and capacity of this airlift".

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

An unmarked helicopter was waiting on the embassy grounds to airlift us out, and there wasn’t a minute to spare.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

Trekkers were also pressured into airlifts even for minor illnesses, according to the chargesheet.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

"There are no aid planes, no humanitarian airlifts, no real international movement and no ground efforts to break the siege."

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025

The base is supplied weekly by the Canadian Air Force, and twice a year with bigger airlifts of fuel and cargo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025

Two more airlifts are planned in the coming days, Sullivan said.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

In addition to outright     warfare, the strife has included interdiction of Armenian imports on the     Azerbaijani railroads and expensive airlifts of supplies to beleagured     Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

From The 1992 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

"The whole thing was terrifying," said Nikki Baggs, 41, who was among those to be airlifted out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon on Saturday alongside her two friends.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

The principal and Yunisha, who both live across the river from the school, were eventually airlifted back to their home village.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

"The senior officers working on the other side, they were all swept away," Tamang, who was airlifted on Thursday after being marooned for more than 24 hours, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Fox was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital—and ultimately survived.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

“In the helicopter? Right before they airlifted you to Children’s Hospital in Detroit?”

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

By 1950 Operations Ezra and Nehemiah began, airlifting 120,000 Jews—90% of the community—to Israel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The government has begun airlifting meat and vegetables from the eastern agricultural heartland of Santa Cruz and central city of Cochabamba to try alleviate the shortages.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

Mr. Said called 911 and a state park aircrew responded, airlifting the woman and transporting her to a local hospital.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 28, 2023

The village is home to at least 225 people, and the authorities said they were airlifting excavators to assist rescuers who trekked 1.5 miles from the nearest highway to reach the village.

From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

Besides airlifting some of the most seriously ill members of the tribe, Brazilian authorities announced that the health ministry would create a field hospital and send supplies and health professionals to the area.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2023

Related Words

• airdrop
• fly