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fairing

American  
[fair-ing] / ˈfɛər ɪŋ /

noun

  1. a structure on the exterior of an aircraft or boat, for reducing drag.

  2. a structure, as a rigid, transparent, plastic sheet, at the front of a motorcycle, bicycle, etc., for deflecting wind and rain.

fairing 1 British  
/ ˈfɛərɪŋ /

noun

  1. archaic a present, esp from a fair

  2. a sweet circular biscuit made with butter

"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
fairing 2 British  
/ ˈfɛərɪŋ /

noun

  1. Also called: fillet.  an external metal structure fitted around parts of an aircraft, car, vessel, etc, to reduce drag Compare cowling

"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 fairing

First recorded in 1910–15; fair 1 + -ing 1

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.

The fairing that secured Clipper at the top of the rocket separated about four and a half minutes into the flight.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2024

Two antelope species are fairing better, although they still have a long way to go before their long-term survival is stabilized.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2023

NASA’s huge Space Launch System currently has a similarly sized fairing, and a future planned configuration can fling a whopping 130 tons to orbit with a working fairing diameter of about nine meters.

From Scientific American • May 15, 2023

"The whole global economy is fairing poorly at the moment, and the fair won't change that."

From Reuters • Apr. 16, 2023

And to each he gave a fairing biscuit, spiced with cinnamon and ginger.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.