aquaplane

American  

[ak-wuh-pleyn, ah-kwuh-] / ˈæk wəˌpleɪn, ˈɑ kwə- /

noun

1. a board that skims over water when towed at high speed by a motorboat, used to carry a rider in aquatic sports.

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verb (used without object)

aquaplaned, aquaplaning

1. to ride an aquaplane.

2. hydroplane.

aquaplane British  

/ ˈækwəˌpleɪn /

noun

1. a single board on which a person stands and is towed by a motorboat at high speed, as in water skiing

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verb

1. to ride on an aquaplane

2. (of a motor vehicle travelling at high speeds in wet road conditions) to rise up onto a thin film of water between the tyres and road surface so that actual contact with the road is lost

Other Word Forms

• aquaplaner noun

Etymology

Origin of aquaplane

First recorded in 1910–15; aqua- + (air)plane

Explanation

An aquaplane is a board on which a rider stands and skims over the surface of the water when pulled by a speedboat. The difference between an aquaplane and water skis is similar to the difference between a snowboard and snow skis. The word aquaplane can be used as a noun — the board itself — or a verb. You might aquaplane for fun during your vacation on a lake. As a verb, the word also has a different meaning, describing what happens when a car's tires skim on the surface of water on a wet road. That's dangerous, as the tires aren't in contact with the road, and the car might slide uncontrollably. In this sense, the word has the same meaning as the verb hydroplane.

Example Sentences

He said while Perkins was travelling at a "grossly excessive speed", the defendant "wasn’t to know there was blocked culvert on the carriageway" which caused him to aquaplane and hit Mr Jeanes.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2024

"I liken it to if you're driving along and you aquaplane a bit and you kind of take your foot off the brake," Ms Lewellen said.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2023

There are two lessons drivers should heed if they aquaplane - you're going too fast and your tyres may be worn.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2014

To most spectators it is as though an aquaplanist were to get bored with skimming the waves on his aquaplane and take a ride on the back of a healthy shark.

From Time Magazine Archive

Above them, suspended from a wire, a tinplate clockwork aquaplane with wooden pontoons and a rotating propeller makes an electric, hypnotizing orbit.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr