hovercraft

American  

[huhv-er-kraft, -krahft, hov-] / ˈhʌv ərˌkræft, -ˌkrɑft, ˈhɒv- /

Or Hovercraft

noun

Chiefly British.

plural

hovercraft

1. ACV.

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hovercraft British  

/ ˈhɒvəˌkrɑːft /

noun

1. a vehicle that is able to travel across both land and water on a cushion of air. The cushion is produced by a fan continuously forcing air under the vehicle

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Etymology

Origin of hovercraft

hover + craft

Explanation

A vehicle that hovers while traveling over land and water is called a hovercraft. Do you need to deliver a batch of cookies to the far side of the lake and down a dirt road? Better take the hovercraft! Although it's not always obvious when you watch a hovercraft move, it does actually hover above the ground or water surface while it's moving. Hovercrafts use air pressure and currents to glide freely over difficult terrain, including mud and ice. As it rides on a "cushion of air," a hovercraft is also known as an "air-cushion vehicle" or "ACV." It takes an actual aircraft pilot to operate one.

Example Sentences

The series 'How it works' had titles as diverse as Television, The Hovercraft and Farm Machinery.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2015

Inside this wall a cushion of air builds up and lifts the Hovercraft off the surface.

From Time Magazine Archive

The all-volunteer effort was in the planning for seven years after Fiennes' wife Virginia first proposed it to her husband, whose previous ventures had included a Hovercraft expedition on the White Nile.

From Time Magazine Archive

A second alternative is a system of cruise missiles that could be mounted on ships, Hovercraft or trucks.

From Time Magazine Archive

It disturbed him that an ... what did he call it? ... an old pro like yourself should join with Vacuum Tube Transport, rather than Continental Hovercraft.

From Mercenary by Birmingham, Lloyd