Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

ejection seat

American  

noun

  1. an airplane seat that can be ejected with the pilot in an emergency.


ejection seat British  

noun

  1. a seat, esp as fitted to military aircraft, that is fired by a cartridge or rocket to eject the occupant from the aircraft in an emergency

"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

Etymology

Origin of ejection seat

First recorded in 1940–45

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:

Click the trigger and the BlackFly noses down, bringing the pilot to a position more like a gaming chair than an ejection seat.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 17, 2025

For example, the version of the F-35 used by the Marine Corps, the F-35B, is the only variant that has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat.

From Washington Times Sep. 26, 2023

But it’s also different in that it’s the only one of the three variants that has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat, according to seat manufacturer Martin-Baker.

From Seattle Times Sep. 19, 2023

Over the years, the F-35 has suffered all sorts of problems, including glitches in its $400,000 helmet, ejection seat and engine.

From Washington Post Mar. 24, 2016

An ejection seat is simply the aluminum seat the pilot sits in, with a small rocket motor built into the back of it.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training