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lighter-than-air

[ lahy-ter-thuhn-air ]

adjective

, Aeronautics.
  1. (of an aircraft) weighing less than the air it displaces, hence obtaining lift from aerostatic buoyancy.
  2. of or relating to lighter-than-air craft.


lighter than air

adjective

  1. having a lower density than that of air
  2. of or relating to an aircraft, such as a balloon or airship, that depends on buoyancy for support in the air
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of lighter-than-air1

First recorded in 1900–05
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Example Sentences

"The Wright brothers invented the lighter-than-air ship early in the twentieth century," he said.

This defect was overcome by the use of lighter-than-air gas.

So are suction, rusting of metals, thunder and lightning and lighter-than-air flying machines.

His progress had been theirs in the new science of lighter-than-air engineering.

The development in the near future of long flights over the ocean would seem, therefore, to be confined to lighter-than-air craft.

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