airworthy

American

[air-wur-thee] / ˈɛərˌwɜr ði /

adjective

airworthier, airworthiest

(of an aircraft) meeting established standards for safe flight; equipped and maintained in condition to fly.

airworthy British

/ ˈɛəˌwɜːðɪ /

adjective

(of an aircraft) safe to fly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of airworthy

First recorded in 1820–30; air ¹ + -worthy

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.

See Examples For:

airworthy

UPS and its contractors are responsible for performing shop work to keep the planes airworthy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

But on Monday, an airport official told the BBC that "the aircraft is confirmed to be airworthy".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025

The total number of registered airworthy aircraft has tripled since the 1980s, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2025

Several travelers are suing Boeing for failing to ensure that the airplane was airworthy.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2024

That is to say, it was not in an airworthy condition.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023