Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

helicopter

Pronunciation: /ˈhɛlɪkɒptə/
Translate helicopter | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of helicopter

noun

  • a type of aircraft which derives both lift and propulsion from one or two sets of horizontally revolving overhead rotors. It is capable of moving vertically and horizontally, the direction of motion being controlled by the pitch of the rotor blades.

verb

[with object and adverbial of direction]
  • transport by helicopter: he was helicoptered out with a bleeding ulcer
  • [no object, with adverbial of direction] fly somewhere in a helicopter: they were helicoptering daily between Bath and London

Origin:

late 19th century: from French hélicoptère, from Greek helix 'spiral' + pteron 'wing'

helicopter in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of helicopter in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

epithalamium

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm /
noun
a song or poem celebrating a marriage …