hydroplane
Americannoun
-
hydroplanes
plural
-
a seaplane.
-
an attachment to an airplane enabling it to glide on the water.
-
a light, high-powered boat, especially one with hydrofoils or a stepped bottom, designed to plane along the surface of the water at very high speeds.
-
a horizontal rudder for submerging or elevating a submarine.
verb (used without object)
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hydroplanes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hydroplaned,
past participle, past
-
hydroplaning
present participle
-
to skim over water in the manner of a hydroplane.
-
to travel in a hydroplane.
-
Also (of a vehicular tire or vehicle) to ride on a film of water on a wet surface with a resulting decrease in braking and steering effectiveness.
noun
-
a motorboat equipped with hydrofoils or with a shaped bottom that raises its hull out of the water at high speeds
-
an attachment to an aircraft to enable it to glide along the surface of water
-
another name (esp US) for a seaplane
-
a horizontal vane on the hull of a submarine for controlling its vertical motion
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hydroplanesimple
-
hydroplanessimple
-
have hydroplanedperfect
-
has hydroplanedperfect
-
am hydroplaningprogressive
-
are hydroplaningprogressive
-
is hydroplaningprogressive
-
have been hydroplaningperfect progressive
-
has been hydroplaningperfect progressive
Past
-
hydroplanedsimple
-
had hydroplanedperfect
-
was hydroplaningprogressive
-
were hydroplaningprogressive
-
had been hydroplaningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hydroplane
Explanation
A hydroplane is an aircraft that's designed to land on water, or a boat that skims lightly across the water's surface. When you hydroplane, it's more likely to be in a car that's slipping on a wet road. The noun hydroplane always refers to a vehicle, either a speedboat that seems to hover over the surface of water as it travels, or a plane that can take off and land on an ocean or lake. Used as a verb, hydroplane describes what these vehicles do — or what a fast-moving car does on a very wet surface, losing traction as it begins to float and slide. The prefix hydro- means "water" in Greek.
Vocabulary lists containing hydroplane
Elements of the Universe: Hydr, Hydro ("Water")
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"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier
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Lyrics from "Umbrella" by Rihanna
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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:
Mr Smith eventually walked away and handed the hydroplane to the Ruskin Museum.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2024
She describes being surprised in March the following year when she was asked by the museum's trustees to mediate with Mr Smith, who harboured ambitions to run the hydroplane across the globe.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2024
Schumacher was just a teenager when he got his first seat in an unlimited hydroplane, driving the Cutie Radio in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
It was an unprecedented heat in unlimited hydroplane racing.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2023
We ascend the red-carpeted stairs, passing silver sailing trophies and the oil portrait of the hydroplane racer Gar Wood.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Two- and four-cylinder hydroplanes, averaging 8 feet in length and weighing 400 pounds including the driver and engine, sped along the river reaching speeds approaching 60 mph.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024
As I took off my racing gear and hydrated, I spotted some modern hydroplanes running practice laps in the distance, preparing for the races later that day.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2023
They both race 2.5-liter modified hydroplanes, and there will be races where they compete against each other.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
His son, Brent Hall Jr., 12, is competing in the J-stock hydroplanes.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Plenty of people know about hydroplanes, and such things.
From The Airplane Boys among the Clouds or, Young Aviators in a Wreck by John Luther Langworthy
A man in San Mateo County died Thursday after his vehicle hydroplaned and struck a tree, becoming the first storm-related death, according to Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
“There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people,” Sgt.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
The Fairfield Police Department said in a statement that the woman apparently hit a patch of standing water and hydroplaned, crashing into a nearby utility pole.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
A 25-year-old man died after his vehicle hydroplaned into another vehicle.
From New York Times ● Oct. 2, 2022
The company investigator, Scott Kimbrough, concluded that, no, Reggie had not hydroplaned.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
In Garfield County, Okla., severe weather destroyed some barns, felled trees and sent cars hydroplaning into ditches, but no one was injured, said Mike Honigsberg, the emergency management director for the county.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2024
A second storm-related death occurred when a teen driver’s car crashed after hydroplaning in the Solano County city of Fairfield, the Fairfield Police Department said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
“We have already had several collisions this morning for vehicles hydroplaning, numerous trees falling, and several roadways that are experiencing flooding,” tweeted the highway patrol’s office in Oroville.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2021
The trickiest section to drive was the long, high-speed straight as the drivers risked hydroplaning or not being able to see through the spray kicked up by the cars around them.
From Washington Times ● May 23, 2021
The quad’s balloon tires cut through the water easily, but he’d have to watch out for hydroplaning, which was just as dangerous as driving on ice.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
