UAP
Americanabbreviation
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UAP's,
plural
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UAPs
plural
Usage
In 2021, the U.S. government released for the first time an unclassified intelligence assessment of UAP’s (unidentified aerial phenomena). The report avoided use of the older term UFO (unidentified flying object) because of its association with unproven claims of extraterrestrial spacecraft sightings. UAP has been embraced as the official term, as it expresses a neutral position on the associated phenomena that remain an ongoing mystery.
Etymology
Origin of UAP
First recorded in 2000–05
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 week, the Defense Department published its third release of UAP files, the first of which came in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Tom DeLonge, guitarist, vocalist and co-founder of the rock band Blink-182, is among one of the most visible UAP obsessives as a founder of To The Stars, an entertainment company that has done UAP research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The UAP were "super-hot," low to the ground, and moving at high speed.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“Keep in mind that declassification doesn’t necessarily come with explanations,” Haley Morris, co-founder of the military pilot-led nonprofit Americans for Safe Aerospace, the world's largest UAP advocacy organization, told Salon.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025
After the dissolution of last year’s UAP Disclosure Act, he’s now lobbying Congress to establish an independent board that would gather and declassify information and protect whistleblowers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.