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sailplane

American

[seyl-pleyn] / ˈseɪlˌpleɪn /

noun

a very light glider that can be lifted by an upward current of air.

verb (used without object)

sailplaned, sailplaning

to soar in a sailplane.

sailplane British

/ ˈseɪlˌpleɪn /

noun

a high-performance glider

"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

Other Word Forms

sailplaner

noun

Etymology

Origin of sailplane

First recorded in 1920–25; sail + plane ¹

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.

Club members wanted to show me what it felt like to ride in a glider, also called a sailplane, and how it can offer a new and different perspective of the world.

From Washington Times • Apr. 12, 2017

With instruction and training, anyone can become a licensed pilot for a sailplane, Grace said.

From Washington Times • Apr. 12, 2017

Like skiers, sailors and surfers, sailplane and hang-glider pilots have their own vocabulary.

From Time Magazine Archive

Retrieve�Trip to disassemble and bring back by trailer a sailplane that has landed off-field.

From Time Magazine Archive

They answered his salute and stared after him as he climbed into the sailplane and signaled to the pilot of the lightplane which was to tow him into the air.

From Frigid Fracas by Reynolds, Mack

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