helicopter

[hel-i-kop-ter, hee-li-]

noun

1. any of a class of heavier-than-air craft that are lifted and sustained in the air horizontally by rotating wings or blades turning on vertical axes through power supplied by an engine.

verb (used without object)

1. to fly in a helicopter.

verb (used with object)

1. to convey in a helicopter.

helicopter

/ ˈhɛlɪˌkɒptə /

noun

1. an aircraft capable of hover, vertical flight, and horizontal flight in any direction. Most get all of their lift and propulsion from the rotation of overhead blades See also autogiro

verb

1. to transport (people or things) or (of people or things) to be transported by helicopter

Word History and Origins

Origin of helicopter¹

From the French word hélicoptère, dating back to 1885–90. See helico-, -pter

Word History and Origins

Origin of helicopter¹

C19: from French hélicoptère, from _helico- + Greek pteron wing

Example Sentences

The production is excellent, with well-executed set pieces — the plane crash, a tug-of-war between a helicopter and a giant bus, a fight on a train, a fight on a dam.

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The airport, which operates the single busiest runway in the U.S., was the site of a January midair collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.

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Border Patrol agents made arrests in downtown Chicago on a recent weekend, and an overnight raid on a South Side apartment building last week used Black Hawk helicopters and netted 37 arrests.

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Air-traffic control operations have faced heightened scrutiny following a deadly midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.

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The effort involved trap experts, dogs, trail cameras, setting and monitoring 100 traps, and helicopters to transport people and equipment.

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Related Words

• chopper