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Synonyms

flying saucer

American  

noun

  1. any of various disk-shaped objects allegedly seen flying at high speeds and altitudes, often with extreme changes in speed and direction, and thought by some to be manned by intelligent beings from outer space.

flying saucer British  

noun

  1. any disc-shaped flying object alleged to come from outer space

"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 flying saucer

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

In a work on paper, a flying saucer shoots neon-orange beams at a nuclear power plant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Let’s think about the terrifying theremin line that snakes through “Good Vibrations” like it’s tugging a flying saucer down onto Dockweiler Beach.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2025

Reports include a flying saucer seen from a guest house, a 7ft alien-like figure coming out of a hedge and a "cigar-shaped" UFO near a schoolyard.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2023

In 1980, a popular book called "The Roswell Incident" by Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore described an alleged flying saucer crash and government cover-up 33 years prior near Roswell, New Mexico.

From Salon • Jul. 19, 2023

It went by like a little flying saucer, then crashed in the dirt.

From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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.