Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

slipstream

[slip-streem]
noun Also slip stream.
  1. Aeronautics. the airstream pushed back by a revolving aircraft propeller.Compare backwash(def 2), wash(def 31).
  2. the airstream generating reduced air pressure and forward suction directly behind a rapidly moving vehicle.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to ride in the slipstream of a fast-moving vehicle.
Show More

Origin of slipstream

First recorded in 1910–15; slip1 + stream
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for slipstream

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for slipstream

slipstream

noun
  1. Also called: airstream, race
    1. the stream of air forced backwards by an aircraft propeller
    2. a stream of air behind any moving object
Show More
verb
  1. motor racing to follow (another car, etc) closely in order to take advantage of the decreased wind resistance immediately behind it
Show More
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

Word Origin and History for slipstream

n.

also slip-stream, 1913, from slip (n.2) + stream (n.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper