aircraft
- 01 A2 Elementary
a vehicle that can fly, like a plane or a helicopter.
any machine capable of flight through the atmosphere, supported either by the dynamic reaction of the air or by buoyancy.
Simple“The pilot checked the aircraft carefully before taking off into the cloudy sky.”
In context“Modern aircraft are equipped with sophisticated navigation systems that allow them to land safely even in conditions of extremely low visibility.”
UsageThe plural form is identical to the singular form.
PitfallThe airport has many aircrafts on the runway. The airport has many aircraft on the runway.The word 'aircraft' is the same in both singular and plural forms; do not add an 's'.
Usage aircraft carrier · aircraft carriers
“A doctor on board treated him as the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki.”
“The aircraft helped bring another fire on the island of Brac, near Split, under control on Thursday.”
From air + -craft.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.