ai r base (air bases ) also airbase N‑COUNT An air base is a centre where military aircraft take off or land and are serviced, and where many of the centre's staff live.
air|bed /eə r bed/ (airbeds ) also air bed N‑COUNT An airbed is a plastic or rubber mattress which can be folded or stored flat and which you fill with air before you use it.
air|borne /eə r bɔː r n/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If an aircraft is airborne , it is in the air and flying. □ The pilot did manage to get airborne.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Airborne troops use parachutes to get into enemy territory. □ The allies landed thousands of airborne troops.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Airborne means in the air or carried in the air. □ Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.
ai r brake (air brakes ) N‑COUNT Air brakes are brakes which are used on heavy vehicles such as buses and trains and which are operated by means of compressed air.
air|brush /eə r brʌʃ/ (airbrushes , airbrushing , airbrushed )
1 N‑COUNT An airbrush is an artist's tool which sprays paint onto a surface.
2 VERB To airbrush a photograph or other image means to change it using an airbrush, especially to make it more beautiful or perfect. □ [V -ed] …bits of photographs cut, pasted and then airbrushed to create a convincing whole. [Also V n]
Air|bus /eə r bʌs/ (Airbuses ) N‑COUNT An Airbus is an aeroplane which is designed to carry a large number of passengers for fairly short distances. [TRADEMARK ]
ai r-con N‑UNCOUNT Air-con is the same as air conditioning . [INFORMAL ] □ The bus is a 45-seater with air-con and video screens.
ai r con|di |tioned ADJ If a room or vehicle is air conditioned , the air in it is kept cool and dry by means of a special machine. □ …our new air conditioned trains.
ai r con|di |tion|er (air conditioners ) N‑COUNT An air conditioner is a machine which keeps the air in a building cool and dry.
ai r con|di |tion|ing N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Air conditioning is a method of providing buildings and vehicles with cool dry air.
ai r-cooled ADJ [usu ADJ n] An air-cooled engine is prevented from getting too hot when it is running by cool air that passes over it, rather than being cooled by a liquid. □ The car was powered by a four cylinder air-cooled engine.
air|craft ◆◆◇ /eə r krɑːft, -kræft/ (aircraft ) N‑COUNT An aircraft is a vehicle which can fly, for example an aeroplane or a helicopter. □ The return flight of the aircraft was delayed. □ At least three military aircraft were destroyed. COLLOCATIONS aircraft NOUN
noun + aircraft : combat, enemy, fighter, reconnaissance, surveillance; passenger, transport
adjective + aircraft : commercial, military; pilotless, unmanned; light
verb + aircraft : fly
ai r|craft car|ri|er (aircraft carriers ) N‑COUNT An aircraft carrier is a warship with a long, flat deck where aircraft can take off and land.
air|crew /eə r kruː/ (aircrews ) also air crew N‑COUNT [with sing or pl verb] The aircrew on a plane are the pilot and other people who are responsible for flying it and for looking after any passengers who are on it.
air|drome /eə r droʊm/ (airdromes ) N‑COUNT An airdrome is a place or area where small aircraft can land and take off. [AM ] in BRIT, use aerodrome
ai r drop (air drops , air dropping , air dropped ) also airdrop , air-drop
1 N‑COUNT An air drop is a delivery of supplies by aircraft to an area that is hard to get to. The supplies are dropped from the aircraft on parachutes.
2 VERB If a country or organization air drops supplies to a place, it drops supplies there from aircraft. [Also V n]
air|fare /eə r fe r / (airfares ) N‑COUNT The airfare to a place is the amount it costs to fly there.
air|field /eə r fiːld/ (airfields ) N‑COUNT An airfield is an area of ground where aircraft take off and land. It is smaller than an airport.
air|flow /eə r floʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT The airflow around an object or vehicle is the way that the air flows around it.
ai r force ◆◇◇ (air forces ) N‑COUNT An air force is the part of a country's armed forces that is concerned with fighting in the air. □ …the United States Air Force.
ai r fresh|en|er (air fresheners ) N‑VAR An air freshener is a product people can buy which is meant to make rooms smell pleasant.
air|gun /eə r gʌn/ (airguns ) also air gun N‑COUNT An airgun is a gun which is fired by means of air pressure.
air|head /eə r hed/ (airheads ) N‑COUNT If you describe someone, especially a young woman, as an airhead , you are critical of them because you think they are not at all clever and are interested only in unimportant things. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
ai r|ing cup|board (airing cupboards ) N‑COUNT In British houses, an airing cupboard is a warm cupboard where you put clothes and other things that have been washed and partly dried, to make sure they are completely dry.
air|less /eə r ləs/ ADJ If a place is airless , there is no fresh air in it. □ …a dark, airless room.
air|lift /eə r l I ft/ (airlifts , airlifting , airlifted )
1 N‑COUNT An airlift is an operation to move people, troops, or goods by air, especially in a war or when land routes are closed. □ [+ of ] The UK and the USA organized an airlift of supplies.