UAP
Americanabbreviation
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.
Video of another orb says it shows a spherical UAP zooming over the Yellow Sea in 2022.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The UAP were "super-hot," low to the ground, and moving at high speed.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Indeed, as military pilots continue to report UAP sightings, the government has convened exploratory panels into the issue.
From Salon • Jan. 25, 2025
“I think the audience feels a degree of vindication,” said Nick Pope, a UAP researcher and former civil servant in the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense, who presented at Contact.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2024
Rep. Tim Burchett formed a bipartisan UAP caucus.
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.
