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plane spotter

British  

noun

  1. a person who observes, photographs, and catalogues aircraft as a hobby

"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

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.

The surge of immigration detention flights at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport spurred plane spotter Nick Benson to shift from tracking rare and unusual aircraft to cataloging the removal of detainees from Minnesota.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

Audio of the passenger jet's crew alerting air traffic control to the potential threat was recorded by a Dutch plane spotter.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2024

Pilshchykov was an avid plane spotter before training as a pilot and joining the 40th tactical aviation brigade in 2016, military news outlet Militarnyi said.

From Reuters • Aug. 29, 2023

Through a painstaking search that included deep dives into websites in which plane spotter hobbyists kept track of aircraft, Ceraudo and Lewin were able to locate the planes.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 24, 2023

ProPublica confirmed that Thomas was on the jet through Supreme Court security records obtained by the nonprofit Fix the Court, private jet data, a New Haven plane spotter and another person at the airport.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2023