parachute
n. countablen. a large piece of thin cloth that opens in the air to help someone or something fall slowly and safely from a plane.
n. a folding umbrella-shaped device made of light fabric used to retard the speed of an object or person falling through the atmosphere. Often used metaphorically in business to describe a financial safety net.
The pilot jumped from the plane and opened his parachute.
The cargo was dropped from the transport plane with a heavy-duty parachute to ensure the supplies landed without breaking.
Modern emergency parachutes are designed with steerable toggles, allowing the jumper to navigate toward a safe landing zone even in unpredictable crosswinds.
Borrowed from French parachute, from para- (“protection against”) (as in parasol) and chute (“fall”).
Commonly used with the verbs 'deploy', 'open', or 'fail'.