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seaplane

American

[see-pleyn] / ˈsiˌpleɪn /

noun

an airplane provided with floats for taking off from or landing on water.

seaplane British

/ ˈsiːˌpleɪn /

noun

Also called (esp US): hydroplane. any aircraft that lands on and takes off from water

"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

Etymology

Origin of seaplane

First recorded in 1910–15; sea + 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.

Last month a DC-8 and a converted U-2 spyplane began flights under and through the hole in the most intensive attempt to date to pin down a detailed model of the ozone depletion process.

From Time Magazine Archive

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, along with scientists from several institutions, announced startling findings from atmospheric studies done by a modified spyplane and an orbiting satellite.

From Time Magazine Archive

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