Royal Air Force

British

noun

RAF. the air force of the United Kingdom

"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

Royal Air Force Cultural

The British air force, most famous for its performance in the Battle of Britain and other campaigns of World War II. Known as the RAF.

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.

So, it made perfect sense that the first Formula One Grand Prix was held in 1950 at a former Royal Air Force bomber base in Northamptonshire known as Silverstone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

During World War Two he served as a reconnaissance pilot in the Royal Air Force, then in the late 1940s emigrated to Canada.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Deighton was trained as a photographer during his service with the Royal Air Force and studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Britain's foreign minister Yvette Cooper said the strike on the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, a British overseas territory near the coastal city of Limassol, hit the "airport runway".

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

Lockheed was on a war footing, punching out aircraft for the Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023