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Synonyms

dirigible

American  
[dir-i-juh-buhl, dih-rij-uh-] / ˈdɪr ɪ dʒə bəl, dɪˈrɪdʒ ə- /

noun

  1. an airship.


adjective

  1. designed for or capable of being directed, controlled, or steered.

dirigible British  
/ dɪˈrɪdʒɪbəl /

adjective

  1. able to be steered or directed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. another name for airship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • dirigibility noun
  • nondirigibility noun
  • nondirigible adjective

Etymology

Origin of dirigible

First recorded in 1580–90 for the adjective and in 1885–90 for the noun; from Latin dīrigere, dēregere “to arrange, align, straighten, direct” + English adjective suffix -ible; direct, -ible

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.

“Let’s Fly” exhibition, are striped, spotted, shaped like doughnuts and light up in the night sky like condensed, dirigible versions of Ugo Rondinone’s “Seven Magic Mountains” sculpture.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2024

Walter Wellmann lifted off in the dirigible “America,” only to ditch it off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, when a storm hit shortly afterward.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2022

Other inventions, which never quite succeeded, included a sailboat with an adjustable mast, a dirigible, a fiberglass ukulele and a solid-foam football, with grooves in the surface.

From Washington Post • Oct. 16, 2021

Lowman has also accessed the canopy using construction cranes and an inflatable raft attached to a dirigible.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2021

What he saw was the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand