helicopter
Americannoun
-
helicopters
plural
verb (used without object)
-
helicopters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
helicoptered,
past participle, past
-
helicoptering
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
helicopters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
helicoptered,
past participle, past
-
helicoptering
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
helicoptersimple
-
helicopterssimple
-
have helicopteredperfect
-
has helicopteredperfect
-
am helicopteringprogressive
-
are helicopteringprogressive
-
is helicopteringprogressive
-
have been helicopteringperfect progressive
-
has been helicopteringperfect progressive
Past
-
helicopteredsimple
-
had helicopteredperfect
-
was helicopteringprogressive
-
were helicopteringprogressive
-
had been helicopteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of helicopter
From the French word hélicoptère, dating back to 1885–90. See helico-, -pter
Explanation
A helicopter is a flying vehicle with a system of rotors that lift and propel it. In some cities, police officers patrol in helicopters. In some suburbs, wealthy people even commute by helicopter. Like airplanes, helicopters travel through the air — but unlike airplanes, they don't have wings. Most helicopters have a large rotor blade on top that creates lift by spinning rapidly. Smaller rotors help the helicopter move and steer. Hospitals use helicopters for transporting patients in crisis, for whom an ambulance might not move fast enough. The word comes from Greek roots, helix, "spiral," and pteron, "wing."
Vocabulary lists containing helicopter
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.
See Examples For:
Search and rescue vessels were at the scene and a helicopter was conducting surveillance from the air.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In June, the Navy used them to rescue the crew of an Apache helicopter that was downed off the coast of Oman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rhossi normally lives in the sea, but has to travel out of the water – first by helicopter from Anglesey to London, then by cargo flight to Houston, Texas, USA.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Bret may lament childhood’s demise, but if you had helicopter parents, these throes probably look less like trash than fire.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Despite their inability to add water to the pools, the helicopter flights marked a change in fortune for the workers at the plant.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
More than a dozen aerial assets, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, were assigned to the blaze, performing retardant and water drops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
At one point, a total of 11 aerial resources, including fixed-wing aircraft and firefighting helicopters, were assigned to the incident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Also targeted was the Empresa Militar Industrial Yuri Gagarin, which repairs military helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and helps maintain Cuba's fleet of Russian-built military planes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Buildings, including homes and businesses, have been destroyed, with videos from the city showing flames tearing through houses as helicopters fly above, trying to put out the flames.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Yeah. We’re gonna get a mansion somewhere. With a limo. And a pool. And helicopters and stuff.”
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
Mass opposition and a coup briefly deposed him, but after three days under guard on a military island, he helicoptered back to Caracas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Instead, they recommended that Nusslock be helicoptered to UC San Francisco for an abortion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
I could not see anything and I was helicoptered out, before spending two weeks in a coma in an army hospital in Kabul.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2024
Materials will need to be helicoptered in to many sites, and volunteers will need to go through training to ensure they’re not disrupting other wildlife or vegetation in the area.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2022
I helicoptered my arms, trying to catch my balance.
From "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart
Wainschel, a vice president at an automotive marketing technology company, says he doesn’t think his outreach qualifies as helicoptering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
After helicoptering to the compound in Pakistan, O’Neill said he and other SEALs reached a third-floor bedroom where bin Laden was.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
He tumbled out of bounds at nearly 60 miles per hour, his skis helicoptering into the netting on one side of the slope.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2021
“Your moral stature is actually enhanced the more persecuted you are or want to be. It’s a generation of overparenting, protecting children from every conceivable harm, helicoptering over them and infantilizing them.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2021
A few fall, helicoptering down to the forest floor.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
