airlift
Americannoun
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a system for transporting persons or cargo by aircraft, especially in an emergency.
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the persons or cargo so transported.
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the act or process of transporting such a load.
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a pump for raising liquids by the pressure of air forced into the pump chamber.
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of airlift
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.
Vocabulary lists containing airlift
Chapter 28: The Cold War Era
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Chapter 19, Sections 1–4 and Chapter 20, Sections 1–3
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 22–March 28, 2026
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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.
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
"Given the uncertainties and severity of the illness, there is concern about the scale of transmission in affected communities," the WHO said Friday as it prepared to airlift five tonnes of material including infection prevention gear from Kinshasa.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
We were running this airlift, like small propeller planes with eight seats, trying to get more than 100 people back to the mainland before twilight hits because they don’t have lighting on the runway.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
The paramedic then worked with fire personnel on the ground to secure the patient in a rescue basket and airlift him to a local trauma center.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025
The Mancinis, who were away at the beach, didn’t even know that the airlift would be that day.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
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.
