airport

¹ American  

[air-pawrt, -pohrt] / ˈɛərˌpɔrt, -ˌpoʊrt /

noun

1. a tract of land or water with facilities for the landing, takeoff, shelter, supply, and repair of aircraft, especially one used for receiving or discharging passengers and cargo at regularly scheduled times.

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airport ² American  

[air-pawrt, -pohrt] / ˈɛərˌpɔrt, -ˌpoʊrt /

noun

Nautical.

1. a porthole designed to be opened to the outside air.

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airport British  

/ ˈɛəˌpɔːt /

noun

1. a landing and taking-off area for civil aircraft, usually with surfaced runways and aircraft maintenance and passenger facilities

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Etymology

Origin of airport¹

1915–20; air ¹ + port ¹, on the model of seaport

Origin of airport²

First recorded in 1780–90; air ¹ + port ⁴

Example Sentences

The east London airport - which already has permission to increase passenger capacity - wants approval to lower the flight approach path and accommodate planes such as Airbus A320neo.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

Lahbib said five more flights were planned for Bunia airport, a key logistics hub in the epidemic response.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

But when the team showed up in Detroit ahead of its World Cup opener, the players were mobbed at the airport.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport is home to a sleek white Bombardier Global 7500—a $75 million Western-built jet that caters to the world’s wealthy and business elites.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

That day, after we took my dad to the airport, we got home to find Ray was in his bad mood.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• airfield
• airstrip
• installation
• runway