aquaplane
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to ride an aquaplane.
noun
verb
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to ride on an aquaplane
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(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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aquaplanesimple
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aquaplanessimple
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have aquaplanedperfect
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has aquaplanedperfect
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am aquaplaningprogressive
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are aquaplaningprogressive
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is aquaplaningprogressive
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have been aquaplaningperfect progressive
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has been aquaplaningperfect progressive
Past
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aquaplanedsimple
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had aquaplanedperfect
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was aquaplaningprogressive
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were aquaplaningprogressive
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had been aquaplaningperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing aquaplane
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:
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
Stunt In snowless Miami Beach, Fla., Pressagent Steve Hannagan hired a local Santa Claus, sent him to sea on an aquaplane.
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
Heavy rain had made the M2 treacherous, and as Macy was overtaking other cars and a lorry, her car aquaplaned.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2021
Mr Perry had been returning home from a work event in March 2018 when he stopped to assist the driver of a car that had aquaplaned and hit the central reservation.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2021
Mr Perry had been returning home from a work event in March 2018 when he came across a car that had aquaplaned and hit the central reservation.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2020
The Finn, who aquaplaned on standing water, was fortunate nobody hit him head on.
From Reuters ● Nov. 13, 2016
Bianchi suffered the injury when he aquaplaned off a wet track and hit the back of a recovery tractor that had been deployed to remove Adrian Sutil's crashed Sauber.
From Reuters ● Oct. 6, 2014
With players aquaplaning across the soggy surface and the error count sky high, Finn Russell and Garbisi exchanged penalties before Scotland's replacement hooker George Turner was sent to the bin for a rash clear-out.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
He has at various times doggedly tackled flying, boxing, aquaplaning, and taught himself to type, play the piano, and do the breast stroke.
From Time Magazine Archive
I can't do my dive over again, but Olivia and I will show you some aquaplaning.
From The Clammer and the Submarine by Hopkins, William John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
