flying wing

American  

noun

Aeronautics.

1. an airplane whose wings form almost all the airframe, with the fuselage almost or entirely within the wing structure.

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flying wing British  

noun

1. an aircraft consisting mainly of one large wing and no fuselage or tailplane

2. (in Canadian football) the twelfth player, who has a variable position behind the scrimmage line

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Etymology

Origin of flying wing

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

As the pilotless flying wing came in for a landing, winds suddenly picked up.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2019

The company is going with a flying wing, whose tips can fold in at the edges to fit on a crowded carrier deck.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2018

James revealed the first artist's rendering of the secret bomber, an angular flying wing, at the Air Force Association's annual Air Warfare Symposium.

From Reuters • Feb. 26, 2016

Chris Ashton's flying wing exploits may not have exactly overshadowed the manner of England's victory over Italy, but his defiance of Martin Johnson's order to touch the ball down safely before celebrating excited the media.

From The Guardian • Feb. 17, 2011

Nottingham began his approach, with Alvarez flying wing just seventy feet back.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin