airman

American  

[air-muhn] / ˈɛər mən /

noun

• airmen
  plural

1. an aviator.

2. U.S. Air Force. an enlisted person of one of the three lowest ranks airmanbasic, airman, airmanfirstclass. Amn

3. a member of a military aircrew.

4. (in other countries) an enlisted person in the air force.

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airman British  

/ ˈɛəmən /

noun

1. an aviator, esp a man who serves in his country's air force

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• airwoman
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• airmen
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of airman

1870–75, for an earlier sense; air ¹ + -man, on the model of seaman

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

airman airmen

The airman, identified, external by the military as Sgt Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor at Joint Base San Antonio, died in hospital.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

"Free-falling is a good way to put it," said the US airman, who was identified by the name Bravo during the CBS segment.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

A California airman died Thursday after the heavy machinery he was operating rolled down an embankment at a military base, officials said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

A World War II American airman attached eight banknotes from different countries into a roll called a “short snorter” and collected 39 signatures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

“And you have seen no airman, no parachutist?” he went on.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

American airmen were already helping to restore traffic at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas, which was also damaged in one of the worst quake disasters in Latin American history.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

“We’re asking airmen to strap into jets that their grandfathers, fathers and now they are flying, and it is time for a reset,” said Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

In the interview, the president also shared new details about the dramatic rescue of two U.S. airmen whose F-15E was shot down over Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

His orders in 1944 were to coordinate the rescue of downed Allied airmen and prisoners of war while establishing radio contact between the resistance and the British.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Proper British airmen flying over the European Continent carry a couple of photographs in their emergency kit, just in case they’re shot down and need fake ID.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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