parachute

American  

[par-uh-shoot] / ˈpær əˌʃut /

noun

1. 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.

2. parachute brake.

3. Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.

4. Informal.

   1. the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.

   2. golden parachute.

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verb (used with object)

parachuted, parachuting

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

verb (used without object)

parachuted, parachuting

1. to descend by parachute.

parachute British  

/ ˈpærəˌʃuːt /

noun

1. 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. Sometimes shortened to: chute.  ( as modifier ) See also brake parachute

      parachute troops

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verb

1. (of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft

2. (in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency

Other Word Forms

• parachuter noun
• parachutic adjective
• parachutist noun

Etymology

Origin of parachute

1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- ² + chute fall; chute ¹

Example Sentences

Rhodes joined the Army after high school and served for three years before being honorably discharged after a parachuting accident in 1986.

From Salon

And when he did race, his parachute was black.

From Los Angeles Times

But what begins as the sleazy and alluring tale of a man parachuting into self-destruction turns into an exploration of the transformative power of living in one’s true identity.

From Los Angeles Times

The small, fully automated rocket took off vertically, and the capsule carrying the tourists then detached in flight before gently descending back to the Texas desert, slowed by parachutes.

From Barron's

“You need a parachute before jumping,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bounce
• bound
• dive
• drop
• fall
• hop
• plummet
• skip
• surge
• take
• top
• vault