airman

American  

[air-muhn] / ˈɛər mən /

noun

plural

airmen

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

• airwoman noun

Etymology

Origin of airman

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

Example Sentences

To our astonishment, the airman was speaking to Mutti in almost perfect German.

From Literature

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

The focus of the operation in Nabi Chit was recovering the remains of an Israeli military airman who went missing in Lebanon 40 years ago.

From BBC

Many World War I airmen came to L.A. to become stunt pilots and, occasionally, movie stars.

From Los Angeles Times

During World War II, the British and U.S. military hid money, maps and tools in Monopoly board games and sent them via fake charities to soldiers and airmen held in German prison camps.

From The Wall Street Journal