autogiro

American  

[aw-tuh-jahy-roh] / ˌɔ təˈdʒaɪ roʊ /

Or autogyro

noun

autogiros plural

1. an aircraft with an unpowered, horizontally rotating propeller on a shaft above the fuselage that provides lift for the machine, with forward propulsion being provided by a conventional propeller: superseded in most applications by the helicopter.

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autogiro British  

/ ˌɔːtəʊˈdʒaɪrəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: gyroplane.  a self-propelled aircraft supported in flight mainly by unpowered rotating horizontal blades Compare helicopter

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• autogiros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of autogiro

First recorded in 1920–25; formerly a trademark

Example Sentences

Stuffed with sumo wrestling; trap doors; an autogiro equipped with flamethrowers and missiles; a piranha pool; and, of course, a rocket base hidden inside a volcano, “You Only Live Twice” wasn’t exactly an actor’s breakthrough.

From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2020

Engine failure by itself is not too serious, since a helicopter with a dead rotor acts like an autogiro and windmills down to earth.

From Time Magazine Archive

Often Governor Earle works at his Harrisburg office in the morning, then climbs into his autogiro after lunch, takes the controls, flies away to speak in a distant part of the State.

From Time Magazine Archive

Two days later he took a flying examination, became the first U. S. Governor to get a license to pilot an autogiro.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another guest, Charles T. Otto, offered to fly him and a girl friend back across Lake Michigan's tip to Chicago in an autogiro.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• chopper