lifting body

American

noun

Aeronautics.

an aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which there are no wings, and lift is obtained by aerodynamic forces on its body.

lifting body British

noun

a wingless aircraft or spacecraft that derives its aerodynamic lift from the shape of its body

"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

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.

This is more like the X-24 Lifting Body from 1963.

From New York Times

Europe has produced one or two re-entry capsule systems in the past, but the IXV's complex "lifting body" is new territory.

From BBC

Sierra Nevada had the most novel entry, a winged, lifting body vehicle strongly reminiscent of NASA's space shuttle.

From US News

The re-usable "lifting body" will spend about a day in orbit before returning to a landing strip on the US West Coast.

From BBC

Designs include traditional capsules, as well as "lifting body" vehicles.

From Reuters

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023