helicopter
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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helicoptersimple
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helicopterssimple
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have helicopteredperfect
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has helicopteredperfect
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am helicopteringprogressive
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are helicopteringprogressive
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is helicopteringprogressive
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have been helicopteringperfect progressive
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has been helicopteringperfect progressive
Past
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helicopteredsimple
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had helicopteredperfect
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was helicopteringprogressive
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were helicopteringprogressive
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had been helicopteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of helicopter
From the French word hélicoptère, dating back to 1885–90. See helico-, -pter
Explanation
A helicopter is a flying vehicle with a system of rotors that lift and propel it. In some cities, police officers patrol in helicopters. In some suburbs, wealthy people even commute by helicopter. Like airplanes, helicopters travel through the air — but unlike airplanes, they don't have wings. Most helicopters have a large rotor blade on top that creates lift by spinning rapidly. Smaller rotors help the helicopter move and steer. Hospitals use helicopters for transporting patients in crisis, for whom an ambulance might not move fast enough. The word comes from Greek roots, helix, "spiral," and pteron, "wing."
Vocabulary lists containing helicopter
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:
Toppled in August 2024 by a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year, iron-fisted rule, Hasina fled by helicopter to India as crowds stormed her palace.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
After completing medical evaluations at the landing site, the crew members will travel by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are stationed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Cal Fire had amassed multiple air tankers, one helicopter, 22 fire engines and four bulldozers to support the 225 fire personnel who were fighting the blaze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Natural Resources Wales said a specialist firefighting helicopter will be deployed to Rhinogydd on Friday morning after calls for "aerial support".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
When they reached the helicopter, the stretcher was tilted at an angle as he was lifted through the opening.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Shapiro said he became familiar with NextRequest while using it to request records as part of a years-long study on the environmental and health effects of low-flying police helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Several fires broke out in northern and central Portugal, with over 1,000 firefighters and other professionals fighting the flames, supported by around 20 planes and helicopters, civil protection services said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country had sought reinforcements from across the continent to help fight the blaze, including Canadair aircraft from Croatia and Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
A manhunt involving helicopters and officers from several German states was under way across the capital on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
‘Then get cracking!’ the Queen said, ‘You’ll need nine helicopters, one for each Giant.’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
Mass opposition and a coup briefly deposed him, but after three days under guard on a military island, he helicoptered back to Caracas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Instead, they recommended that Nusslock be helicoptered to UC San Francisco for an abortion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
I could not see anything and I was helicoptered out, before spending two weeks in a coma in an army hospital in Kabul.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2024
“Here’s the bottom line: When my predecessor got covid, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed,” Biden said.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2022
Jedda-Boy was talking about how once when he lived in Nevada, he got helicoptered to a secret location to measure some land.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
He tumbled out of bounds at nearly 60 miles per hour, his skis helicoptering into the netting on one side of the slope.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2021
“Your moral stature is actually enhanced the more persecuted you are or want to be. It’s a generation of overparenting, protecting children from every conceivable harm, helicoptering over them and infantilizing them.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2021
Inspired by the aerodynamics of these helicoptering pods, as well as other gliding, spinning tree seeds, engineers claim to have crafted the smallest ever wind-borne machines, which they call “microfliers.”
From Scientific American ● Sep. 22, 2021
Eventually, Mike said, they went to Eagle Base, a Central Intelligence Agency compound, where officials were helicoptering some people, including lawful permanent residents like Mike and his wife, to the airport.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2021
A few fall, helicoptering down to the forest floor.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
