parachute
Americannoun
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parachutes
plural
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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.
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Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.
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Informal.
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the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.
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verb (used with object)
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parachutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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parachuted,
past participle, past
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parachuting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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parachutes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
parachuted,
past participle, past
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parachuting
present participle
noun
verb
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(of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft
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(in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parachutesimple
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parachutessimple
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have parachutedperfect
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has parachutedperfect
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am parachutingprogressive
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are parachutingprogressive
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is parachutingprogressive
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have been parachutingperfect progressive
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has been parachutingperfect progressive
Past
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parachutedsimple
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had parachutedperfect
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was parachutingprogressive
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were parachutingprogressive
-
had been parachutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parachute
1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- 2 + chute fall; see chute 1
Explanation
A parachute fills with air and breaks the fall of someone falling from an airplane. If your airplane is in trouble, and you need to jump, your best friend is a parachute. That's the device people jumping from airplanes use to slow down their falls. A parachute fills up like a balloon, slowing the person down so they fall to the ground gently and safely. People who jump out of planes for fun also use parachutes. When you do this, you're parachuting. Whether for fun or because of your plane's mechanical failure, parachuting is exciting.
Vocabulary lists containing parachute
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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.
See Examples For:
"Even with a reduction in parachute payments, I still feel that advantage will prove to be massively significant for those teams."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"If you look at the numbers of teams that go back up or finish in the top places, there's a huge correlation between those clubs and the ones that are parachute payment clubs," McAnuff said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
It may yet be that Burnley escape the double drop, that the financial advantage of parachute payments outweighs poor decision-making.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Warner’s outgoing chief executive Zaslav will leave with a golden parachute valued at about $887 million, which includes cash, stock and options valued at more than $550 million, according to regulatory filings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Zinaida had worked in a textile factory for five years before joining the 122nd Air Group, and she was assigned to become a parachute packer for the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Die Another Day showcases the exterior of Buckingham Palace, and its surroundings, as Gustav Graves parachutes in to receive his knighthood from the Queen.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Former Montana smokejumper — a firefighter who parachutes into rural terrain to contain wildfires — Sam Forstag is also hoping to go to D.C. as the state’s first Democratic member of Congress in 30 years.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
All three landed under good parachutes but two people collided with each other during the freefall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
When the main parachutes came out, he added, “It was glorious.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
There were no parachutes, so how could I hope to reach earth alive?
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Walker, a 65-year-old London consultant, said she had yet to "make an impression" of the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who was parachuted into the top office by the Labour Party.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
He was parachuted into parliament in a by-election last month to take his place on the green benches and, weeks later, at the top of the greasy pole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Kenyon said he was a truly local candidate, not "parachuted in" like former MP Josh Simons.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Base jumpers parachuted from its heights, and a performance artist recorded himself teetering along a 1-inch-wide slackline strung between two of the properties’ 40-story towers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
“Anyone could be an enemy agent. Scouting the roads. Planning acts of sabotage. Did you hear that German troops parachuted into Holland disguised as nuns?”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Commander Dave Lee, Royal Navy Parachute Display Team, spent the event parachuting into Pendennis Castle at the beginning of the eclipse.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Approach this as a collaborative effort, not as a sister parachuting into his personal and financial life all guns blazing.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
A. For people without a Letterboxd account or even much urge to keep up on movies, parachuting into the Oscars once a year can be disorienting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
In one striking photo, a kneeling US pilot is confronted by a Kuwaiti local, moments after parachuting from his jet.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
When I looked up, I saw a crop duster plunging his little plane over a field of growing things, behind him a cloud of pesticides parachuting out.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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