Area 51

American  

[air-ee-uh fif-tee-wuhn] / ˈɛər i ə ˈfɪf tiˌwʌn /

noun

Informal.

1. a highly classified U.S. Air Force facility in southern Nevada. Area 51 has been the subject of speculation that the site is used to study and conceal evidence of UFO activity as well as visitations by extraterrestrials.

   Just when I’m sure that all this UFO talk about Area 51 is plain nonsense, someone comes out with a new book or documentary to make me start wondering again.

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Etymology

Origin of Area 51

First recorded in 1955–60; from its CIA map designation. Area 51 was also previously referred to as “Paradise Ranch,” later shortened to “the Ranch” in order to make the facility sound more attractive to potential workers

Example Sentences

"They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in Area 51," Obama said.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

Stafford’s Air Force duties not only had him run the military’s top flight school and experimental plane testing base, but he was commanding general of Area 51.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 18, 2024

Area 51 remains off-limits to civilian and regular military air traffic, a decade after the government acknowledged its existence.

From Salon • Aug. 22, 2023

Another important – and odd-shaped – aircraft first tested at Area 51 was the stealth fighter known as the F-117.

From Salon • Aug. 22, 2023

As the pilots trained at Area 51, people all over the American West started seeing oddly shaped ships soaring far higher than any plane they knew of.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin