slipstream

[ slip-streem ]

/ ˈslɪpˌstrim /

noun Also slip stream.

Aeronautics. the airstream pushed back by a revolving aircraft propeller.Compare backwash(def 2), wash(def 31).

the airstream generating reduced air pressure and forward suction directly behind a rapidly moving vehicle.

verb (used without object)

to ride in the slipstream of a fast-moving vehicle.

Nearby words

slipsheet, slipshod, slipslop, slipsole, slipstick, slipstream, slipstreaming, slipt, slipware, slipway, slit

Origin of slipstream

First recorded in 1910–15; slip¹ + stream

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slipstream

Inevitably, 007 ends up alone before—a nice, concluding touch—disappearing into the slipstream of a Sunday morning.
James Bond is Back But is He Any Good without Fleming?|Robert McCrum|October 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
With a rush, and a spinning of dust in the slipstream, the ship was away.
Lords of the Stratosphere|Arthur J. Burks

British Dictionary definitions for slipstream

slipstream

/ (ˈslɪpˌstriːm) /

noun

Also called: airstream, race

the stream of air forced backwards by an aircraft propeller
a stream of air behind any moving object

verb

motor racing to follow (another car, etc) closely in order to take advantage of the decreased wind resistance immediately behind it

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