aerial
Americanadjective
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of, in, or produced by the air.
aerial currents.
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inhabiting or frequenting the air.
aerial creatures.
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operating on a track or cable elevated above the ground.
an aerial ski lift up the mountainside.
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reaching far into the air; high; lofty.
aerial spires.
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partaking of the nature of air; airy.
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unsubstantial; visionary.
aerial fancies.
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having a light and graceful beauty; ethereal.
aerial music.
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Biology. growing in the air, as the adventitious roots of some trees.
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pertaining to or used for, against, or in aircraft.
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supplied or performed by means of aircraft.
aerial support; aerial reconnaissance.
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling air
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existing, occurring, moving, or operating in the air
aerial cable car
aerial roots of a plant
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ethereal; light and delicate
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imaginary; visionary
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extending high into the air; lofty
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of or relating to aircraft
aerial combat
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of aerial
1595–1605; 1900–05 aerial for def. 11; < Latin āeri ( us ) of the air (< Greek āérios, equivalent to āer- (stem of āḗr air 1 ) + -ios adj. suffix) + -al 1
Explanation
Things that are aerial are happening in the air: birds, planes, and missiles are all aerial things. When talking about things that are literally up in the air, you can use the word aerial. If a country sends planes to bomb another country, that's an aerial attack. In football, the passing game is called the aerial game. Anything light and airy can also be called aerial, and an aerial is a device that picks up radio or TV signals: it plucks them out of the air. So when you see the word aerial, just think "air."
Vocabulary lists containing aerial
Flying High: Aviation Words
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Elements of the Universe: Aer, Aero ("Air")
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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:
As French firefighters struggle to contain the worst wildfires in living memory with just 12 aerial water bombers, production of the iconic aircraft creaks along half a world away in a Canadian factory.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Geoffrey is British Intelligence in the book and works as an aerial photographer.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
He said they would normally have to wait every five to seven years for "a record heatwave summer for aerial archaeology", but now they come "every year".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The military also has sent aerial tankers, F-16 jet fighters from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany and stealthy F-35s from the air base at Lakenheath, England, to the region, the WSJ previously reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
He checked the aerial stabilizers and the monitor’s video feed.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Show your children aerials of courses from all over the world, and talk about how different courses can look along the Pacific coast, the Lowcountry of South Carolina or in the Scottish Highlands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Two hours later, China had another gold as freestyle skier Xu Mengtao won the women's aerials final.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
After failing an aptitude test with tech company IBM as a young man in Hackney, east London, he started selling car aerials from a van, and later transistor radios.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2025
Before the aerials, the back handsprings, the 100-meter dashes and relay handoffs, these seemingly otherworldly talents are still regular people.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
He uncoils the grounding wires, raises the aerials, and switches them on.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
