ground control

American  

noun

1. an airport facility that supervises the movement of aircraft and ground vehicles on ramps and taxiways.

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ground control British  

noun

1. the personnel, radar, computers, etc, on the ground that monitor the progress of aircraft or spacecraft

2. a system for feeding continuous radio messages to an aircraft pilot to enable him to make a blind landing

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Other Word Forms

• ground controller noun

Etymology

Origin of ground control

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

He was charged on 29 June with allegedly handing false information to ground control and landing without authorisation, but these were dropped by a judge on Monday.

From BBC • Aug. 12, 2025

All the voices, from ground control to awe-struck passengers, were female.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2025

There was a sublimely silly video in which Mulaney plays a ground control officer trying to help a chimp astronaut return to Earth early in the show.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2024

The twin Voyager 1 probe, launched 16 days after Voyager 2 in 1977, has maintained normal communication with ground control.

From Washington Times • Aug. 1, 2023

In case of emergency, the code would be radioed up from ground control.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin