helicopter
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hehlihkahpterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɛlɪkɑptɚ
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
aircraft
An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover, move in any direction including reverse, or land; and typically having a smaller set of blades on its tail to stabilize the aircraft.
A powered troweling machine with spinning blades used to spread concrete.
A whirling trick performed with devil sticks.
verb
transitive
To transport by helicopter.
intransitive
To travel by helicopter.
To overprotect one's children, as a helicopter parent does.
To rotate like a helicopter blade.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (aircraft) An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover, move in any direction including reverse, or land; and typically having a smaller set of blades on its tail to stabilize the aircraft.
Used this way, helicopter is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately 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 helicopter
- “A rescue helicopter landed gently in the open field to pick up patients.”
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to transport by helicopter
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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.