heav·i·er-than-air

(hĕv′ē-ər-thən-âr′)

adj.

Of, relating to, or being an aircraft heavier than the air it displaces.

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.

heavier-than-air

adj

1. (General Physics) having a density greater than that of air

2. (Aeronautics) of or relating to an aircraft that does not depend on buoyancy for support but gains lift from aerodynamic forces

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

heav′i•er-than-air′

adj.

(of an aircraft) weighing more than the air it displaces, hence having to obtain lift by aerodynamic means.

[1900–05]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

heavier-than-air - relating to an aircraft heavier than the air it displaces

aircraft - a vehicle that can fly

heavy - of comparatively great physical weight or density; "a heavy load"; "lead is a heavy metal"; "heavy mahogany furniture"

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References in periodicals archive

The attempt will take place today, the 110th anniversary of Louis Bleriot's 1909 channel crossing, which was the first time anyone had crossed the channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft.

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They made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft on that momentous day four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the United States.

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