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

---

Etymology

Origin of ejection seat

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

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

The pilot sat in an ejection seat that suggested the electric chair, in front of a fuel compartment containing 2,400 gallons of liquid oxygen and anhydrous ammonia.

From Washington Post • Aug. 29, 2019

The Air Force says a safety investigation after the May 1 emergency landing found a problem with ejection seat components that caused the stand-down.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2018

It carried enough fuel to stay up for three hours, but its ejection seat was very uncomfortable and my backside got numb long before two hours had passed.

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