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)

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

Etymology

Origin of airlift

First recorded in 1940–45; air ¹ + lift

Example Sentences

Alternatively, troops could be airlifted from Persian Gulf nations.

From The Wall Street Journal

Vonn lost control on the first jump, spun sideways in the air, slammed to the ground and needed to be airlifted from the course.

From Los Angeles Times

You can tell the Pentagon loves it because it just airlifted a microreactor to Utah on a C-17 — the military equivalent of posting a flex on Instagram.

From MarketWatch

Paramedics took lifesaving measures and airlifted the patient to a local hospital for treatment.

From Los Angeles Times

"Unfortunately, due to where she was, we were unable to airlift her out due to the length and the wind conditions and the overhanging trees, so winching out wasn't an option."

From BBC

Related Words

• airdrop
• fly