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• hang glider
  hang glider

  noun

  a kitelike glider consisting of a V -shaped wing underneath which the pilot is strapped: kept aloft by updrafts and guided by the pilot's shifting body weight.
• hang-glider
  hang-glider

  noun

  an unpowered aircraft consisting of a large cloth wing stretched over a light framework from which the pilot hangs in a harness, using a horizontal bar to control the flight

hang glider

American  

noun

• hang gliders
  plural

1. a kitelike glider consisting of a V -shaped wing underneath which the pilot is strapped: kept aloft by updrafts and guided by the pilot's shifting body weight.

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hang-glider British  

noun

1. an unpowered aircraft consisting of a large cloth wing stretched over a light framework from which the pilot hangs in a harness, using a horizontal bar to control the flight

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hang-gliding
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hang gliders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hang glider

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hang glider hang-glider

The Helix is classified as a Part 103 ultralight aircraft, the same regulatory class as a hang glider.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

A hang glider is a triangular, kite-like aircraft flown by a pilot who is suspended horizontally underneath.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023

They described him as a tinkerer who taught himself how to use a hang glider, and did not believe he was breaking the law by possessing the Hawk Innovative Tech devices.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2023

Gravity A hang glider dropped his cell phone from a height of 350 feet.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Even Ron would tell anyone who’d listen about the time he’d almost hit a hang glider on Charlie’s old broom.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

The motorized aircraft, also known as a trike, has a wing similar to a hang-glider and a three-wheel tricycle-style undercarriage.

From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2022

Mr O'Shea said: "There are some amazing pictures taken on the hills where you can see the production staff and that hang-glider in the background, just waiting to take off."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2021

Perched on a bluff, it wasn’t a house so much as a hang-glider.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2017

And you’d have to go deep into the textbook to find out how to stop Julius Randle’s assortment of hang-glider baskets that have scouts salivating over his imminent jump to the N.B.A.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2014

But that moment was short lived, for another problem quickly presented itself, namely, how would I remove the hang-glider from the tower and launch it.

From The Revolutions of Time by Jonathan Dunn