vapor trail

American  

noun

1. contrail.

---

Etymology

Origin of vapor trail

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Shot from her L.A. home in the hills, what at first appears to be a strange cloud in the night sky over the twinkling city below turns out to be the vapor trail of a Minuteman missile deployed one night in 1998.

From Los Angeles Times

Kelenic turned the ball into a vapor trail, leaving his bat at 112 mph and traveling 455 feet into the stands in deep right-center.

From Seattle Times

The awesome spectacle and the long, lingering vapor trail brought people outside or to their windows to see what happened—and that’s when the shock wave touched down.

From Scientific American

South Korean social media and internet sites were abuzz with messages by citizens who said they saw a soaring object, rainbow-colored vapor trail or other mysterious lights.

From Washington Times

The track of his life is “a flicker and a dash, a vapor trail. Even in his letters he seems to have one foot out the door,” she writes.

From Seattle Times