parachute

[ par-uh-shoot ]

/ ˈpær əˌʃut /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parachute ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Nearby words

parachordal, parachroma, parachromatopsia, parachromatosis, parachronism, parachute, parachute brake, parachute mitral valve, parachute reflex, parachute rigger, parachute spinnaker

Origin of parachute

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

Related forms

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for parachute

Are you the kind of criminal who steals a plane and then jumps without a parachute from high over a body of water?
I Felt Like Showering After the First-Person Sex in ‘Grand Theft Auto’|Alec Kubas-Meyer|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Daniel Craig, in his finest Bond dinner jacket, called at the Palace and invited her to parachute into the stadium with him.
Imagining Prince Charles as King Makes All of Britain Wish They Could Leave Like Scotland|Clive Irving|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And for wingsuit divers, the only way flight can be “real” is if one can land without a parachute.
The High-Flying Secrets of BASE Jumpers|William O’Connor|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The modern history of the flight, however, gets its start with Jacques-Sébastien Lenormand and his parachute in 1783.
The High-Flying Secrets of BASE Jumpers|William O’Connor|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The second story, which really picks up steam in the latter half of the book, is the race to land without a parachute.
The High-Flying Secrets of BASE Jumpers|William O’Connor|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They straddled legs over the parachute bar, and tied his feet below it.
Danny's Own Story|Don Marquis
He was the first to make a parachute descent from an airship; this was from the airship Delta, in 1913.
The War in the Air; Vol. 1|Walter Raleigh.
And of course the wind may play pranks with the parachute–drift it away down the mountainside!
Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire Girl|Isabel Katherine Hornibrook
This was attached to a parachute which, if the emergency arose, could be dropped.
Lords of the Stratosphere|Arthur J. Burks
It was, however, reserved for M. Jacques Garnerin in 1797 to make the first parachute descent that attracted general attention.
The Dominion of the Air|J. M. Bacon

British Dictionary definitions for parachute

parachute

/ (ˈpærəˌʃuːt) /

noun

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
(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

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