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biplane

American  
[bahy-pleyn] / ˈbaɪˌpleɪn /

noun

  1. an airplane with two sets of wings, one above and usually slightly forward of the other.


biplane British  
/ ˈbaɪˌpleɪn /

noun

  1. a type of aeroplane having two sets of wings, one above the other Compare monoplane

"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

Etymology

Origin of biplane

First recorded in 1870–75; bi- 1 + (air)plane

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Example Sentences

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The practice lasted until 1932, when a 22-year-old student aviator spotted a drifting cat-shaped balloon and tried to capture it with her biplane.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 25, 2025

Red with large flares at her hips and ankles, she resembled the vintage biplane Cruise dangles from in the film.

From Los Angeles Times May 15, 2025

That's how they had her hover at that one point for one of the opening shots when she's hovering and then it turns into the biplane.

From Salon Feb. 19, 2024

Post Office in 1918, depicts a biplane called the Curtiss JN, known as a Jenny.

From New York Times Nov. 14, 2023

When her father had taken her for a ride at age 12 in a rebuilt, open-cockpit Waco biplane, she had fallen in love with flying.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

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