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parachute

[ par-uh-shoot ]
/ ˈpær əˌʃut /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR parachute

noun

a folding, umbrellalike, fabric device with cords supporting a harness or straps for allowing a person, object, package, etc., to float down safely through the air from a great height, especially from an aircraft, rendered effective by the resistance of the air that expands it during the descent and reduces the velocity of its fall.
parachute brake.
Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.
Informal.
  1. the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.
  2. golden parachute.

verb (used with object), par·a·chut·ed, par·a·chut·ing.

to drop or land (troops, equipment, supplies, etc.) by parachute.

verb (used without object), par·a·chut·ed, par·a·chut·ing.

to descend by parachute.

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Origin of parachute

1775–85; <French, equivalent to para-para-2 + chute fall; see chute1

OTHER WORDS FROM parachute

par·a·chut·ic, adjectivepar·a·chut·ist, par·a·chut·er, noun

Words nearby parachute

parachordal, parachroma, parachromatopsia, parachromatosis, parachronism, parachute, parachute brake, parachute mitral valve, parachute reflex, parachute rigger, parachute spinnaker
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to parachute

plummet, skip, dive, drop, bound, bounce, surge, take, hop, fall, vault, top, quiver, barge, rattle, pop, hurdle, shake, trip, caper

Example sentences from the Web for parachute

British Dictionary definitions for parachute

parachute
/ (ˈpærəˌʃuːt) /

noun

  1. a device used to retard the fall of a man or package from an aircraft, consisting of a large fabric canopy connected to a harness
  2. (as modifier)parachute troops Sometimes shortened to: chute See also brake parachute

verb

(of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft
(in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency

Derived forms of parachute

parachutist, noun

Word Origin for parachute

C18: from French, from para- ² + chute fall
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