airplane
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehrplaynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛɹpleɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
“The flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane.”
chiefly uscanadaphilippines
A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings.
chiefly uscanadaphilippines
A game to encourage small children to eat, in which the parent or carer pretends a spoonful of food is an aircraft flying into the child's mouth.
verb
intransitive
To fly in an aeroplane.
transitive
To transport by aeroplane.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
Used this way, airplane is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use airplane
- “The flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Landing an aircraft.
A maneuver executed by an aircraft.
The craft of building and repairing airplanes.
Someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight.
A propeller that rotates to push against air.
A ticket good for a trip on an airplane.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.