plane
n. countablen. a vehicle with wings and an engine that flies through the air. You use it to travel long distances quickly.
n. a powered flying vehicle with fixed wings and a weight greater than that of the air it displaces.
The plane lands at the airport on time.
We had to wait at the gate for two hours before our plane was ready for boarding.
Modern commercial aviation relies on the efficiency of the jet plane to transport hundreds of passengers across oceans in a single flight.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-? Proto-Indo-European *pel-? Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-no-s Proto-Italic *plānos Latin plānus Latin plānumder. English plane From Latin plānum (“flat surface”), a noun use of the neuter of plānus (“plain”). The word was introduced in the 17th century to distinguish the geometrical senses from the other senses of plain. Doublet of llano, piano, and plain.
From Middle English plane, plaine, from Anglo-Norman plaine, from Late Latin plāna (“planing tool”).
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr) Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō) Ancient Greek πλάνος (plános) Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ερόπλᾰνος (āeróplănos)der. French aéroplanebor. English aeroplaneclip. English plane Clipping of aeroplane.
From Middle English plane, borrowed from Old French plane, from Latin platanus, from Ancient Greek πλάτανος (plátanos), from πλατύς (platús, “wide, broad”).
Often used with the prepositions 'by' for the mode of travel or 'on' for being inside the vehicle.
I travel with planeI travel by planeWhen discussing a mode of transport in general, use the preposition 'by' without an article.