aerial

American  

[air-ee-uhl, ay-eer-ee-uhl, air-ee-uhl] / ˈɛər i əl, eɪˈɪər i əl, ˈɛər i əl /

adjective

1. of, in, or produced by the air.

   aerial currents.

2. inhabiting or frequenting the air.

   aerial creatures.

3. operating on a track or cable elevated above the ground.

   an aerial ski lift up the mountainside.

4. reaching far into the air; high; lofty.

   aerial spires.

5. partaking of the nature of air; airy.

6. unsubstantial; visionary.

   aerial fancies.

7. having a light and graceful beauty; ethereal.

   aerial music.

8. Biology. growing in the air, as the adventitious roots of some trees.

9. pertaining to or used for, against, or in aircraft.

10. supplied or performed by means of aircraft.

    aerial support; aerial reconnaissance.

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noun

• aerials
  plural

1. a radio or television antenna.

2. Football. forward pass.

aerial British  

/ ˈɛərɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling air

2. existing, occurring, moving, or operating in the air

   aerial cable car

   aerial roots of a plant

3. ethereal; light and delicate

4. imaginary; visionary

5. extending high into the air; lofty

6. of or relating to aircraft

   aerial combat

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noun

1. Also called: antenna. the part of a radio or television system having any of various shapes, such as a dipole, Yagi, long-wire, or vertical aerial, by means of which radio waves are transmitted or received

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aerialness
  noun
• superaerial
  adjective
• aerially
  adverb
• superaerially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aerials
  plural

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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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aerial aerials

One aerial fight is a dazzler with long takes of planes swooping through the clouds accompanied by the teeth-rattling clatter of lightning bolts that crash against your ears like metal trashcan lids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

They were going to attempt what Ukraine would later say was a first in the history of warfare: an evacuation by aerial drone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

UN human rights monitors said Russia had used "powerful aerial glide bombs" in the strike.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Although relations with the US and its president are often fraught, Ukraine continues to rely heavily on US intelligence and US-made Patriot air defence missiles to counter Russian aerial attacks.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

She was staring at the aerial photograph of Lake Clara that hung over Jim Clarke’s desk.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

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

Heavy snow in Livigno on Tuesday morning forced a number of postponements, including the women's snowboard slopestyle final and the men's and women's aerials qualifiers in freestyle skiing.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 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

It was in the fourth block we came to, a tall, bland building with peeling blue paint and with television aerials sticking out from the verandahs.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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