angle of attack

American  

noun

1. especially British, angle of incidence. Aeronautics. the acute angle between the chord of an aircraft wing or other airfoil and the direction of the relative wind.

2. Railroads. the angular attitude of a wheel flange to the rail, especially on curves.

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angle of attack British  

noun

1. Also called: angle of incidence. the acute angle between the chord line of an aerofoil and the undisturbed relative airflow

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Etymology

Origin of angle of attack

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

angle of attack

In the event, according to Nasa's TV coverage, the angle of attack was perfect and the capsule hit a narrow target of sky southeast of Hawaii as it headed for the Californian coast.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

They discovered that the corrugated wing performance was better when the angle of attack, that angle at which the wind meets the wing, was greater than 30°.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2024

But this affected the aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane, causing the nose to pitch up at high angle of attack at high airspeed.

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2024

Rugna’s taken demonic possession, that increasingly threadbare horror trope, and twisted it around until he found his own angle of attack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2023

I wanted to find out first of all if the ailerons had any tendency to flutter under a high angle of attack condition.

From Test Pilot by Jimmy Collins