con·trail

(kŏn′trāl′)

A visible trail of streaks of condensed water vapor or ice crystals sometimes forming in the wake of an aircraft. Also called vapor trail.

[con(densation) + trail.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

contrail

(ˈkɒntreɪl)

(Aeronautics) another name for vapour trail

[C20: from con(densation) + trail]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

con•trail

(ˈkɒnˌtreɪl)

n.

a visible condensation of water droplets or ice crystals from the atmosphere, occurring in the wake of an aircraft, rocket, or missile.

[1940–45; con(densation) trail]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

contrail - an artificial cloud created by an aircraft; caused either by condensation due to the reduction in air pressure above the wing surface or by water vapor in the engine exhaust

condensation trail

cloud - a visible mass of water or ice particles suspended at a considerable altitude

Translations

Kondensstreifen

contrail

n (Aviat) → Kondensstreifen m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in periodicals archive

The contrails that airplanes create also influence the temperature of our atmosphere-and a new study finds that impact is set to grow in a big way.

Jet contrails have surprising effect on the atmosphere

HERE in mid Wales we bask in the shade of the contrails from the aircraft of the hypermobile, and fret about our rubbish and recycling.

'Green' power a blot on Wales' landscape

Two of Bush's cameras caught the meteor and the eventual white contrails.

Fireball lights up evening sky

As the aviation industry is expanding, the contrails of airplanes are expected to contribute to global climate change significantly.

With rise in entrepreneurship, Lahore becomes talent magnet for Pakistan

Subway clatter and airplane contrails. You can get from here to there in a few hours.

The Light of What Comes After

Aero Craft Engine, which is developing tech to treat and store water in jet engines in flight, eliminating contrails, those line-shaped white clouds, which would reduce global warming by 10-20%.

Ignite supports start-ups also for wellbeing of society

Dave Harrison said the socalled 'contrails' - seen from Birmingham to Shropshire during Monday morning's rush hour - were caused by four McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter jets on a training exercise.

Those mystery trails high in the sky? From four F-15 fighter jets

Climate change is occurring and it is largely attributable to human activity, but it has nothing to do with contrails, which are visible lines that emanate from jet exhaust at high altitudes, given sufficient water vapor present.

Letters

Have you ever been outside on a nice day, gazing up at the bright blue sky and wondered about those contrails? Let's take a closer look and see what they can tell us.

Laying down the line

During flight tests in 2013 and 2014 near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, data was collected on the effects of alternative fuels on engine performance, emissions and aircraft-generated contrails at altitudes flown by commercial airliners.

NASA confirms biofuels reduce exhaust emissions by 50-70%