<B>air-breather, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a missile whose engine uses oxygen from the atmosphere to oxidize its fuel. </DL>
<A NAME="airbreathing">
<B>air-breathing, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that takes in oxygen from the atmosphere to oxidize its fuel. <BR> <I>Ex. air-breathing missiles.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>that respirates or breathes air as a natural process. <BR> <I>Ex. air-breathing insects.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airbrick">
<B>air brick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a brick perforated for ventilation. </DL>
<A NAME="airbridge">
<B>air bridge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a link between two or more places by aircraft. <BR> <I>Ex. Three companies have formed an air bridge between Rio and Sao Paulo, which provides nonreservation flights every half hour (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airbrush">
<B>airbrush, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a device somewhat like an atomizer, operated by compressed air, that is used to spray paint on a surface. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to paint or touch up with an airbrush. <BR> <I>Ex. The Times airbrushed out the player and printed his shadow (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airburst">
<B>airburst, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an explosion of a bomb in the air, above the surface of the earth. <BR> <I>Ex. In a high airburst, the fireball will not touch the ground, and there will be no local fallout (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airbus">
<B>airbus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very large jet aircraft for carrying passengers on short flights. </DL>
<A NAME="aircargo">
<B>air cargo,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cargo transported by aircraft; air freight. </DL>
<A NAME="aircarrier">
<B>air carrier,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an aircraft that carries freight. </DL>
<A NAME="aircastle">
<B>air castle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a daydream; castle in the air. </DL>
<A NAME="aircav">
<B>Air Cav,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Air Cavalry. </DL>
<A NAME="aircavalry">
<B>Air Cavalry,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a unit of the United States Army transported to combat areas by aircraft, especially helicopters. </DL>
<A NAME="aircell">
<B>air cell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tiny cavity for air in an organism. The air sacs of a bird are air cells. </DL>
<A NAME="airchamber">
<B>air chamber,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any compartment filled with air, especially a trap in a pump or other hydraulic system to prevent excessive pressures when the pump is suddenly stopped or started. </DL>
<A NAME="aircleaner">
<B>air cleaner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a device that removes impurities from a stream of gas or air. </DL>
<A NAME="aircoach">
<B>air coach,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a class of air travel with lower fares than first class. <DD><B> 2. </B>a commercial aircraft with comparatively low fares. <DD><B> 3. </B>such aircraft collectively. </DL>
<A NAME="aircock">
<B>aircock, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small valve for letting air in or out. </DL>
<A NAME="aircompressor">
<B>air compressor,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a device that pushes together, or compresses, air, and holds it under pressure, especially as a source of power for a pneumatic drill, pump, or other device. </DL>
<A NAME="aircondition">
<B>air-condition, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to supply (a building, room, car, or other enclosed area) with the equipment for air conditioning. <DD><B> 2. </B>to treat (the air within a building, car, or other enclosed area) by means of air conditioning. </DL>
<A NAME="airconditioned">
<B>air-conditioned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having air conditioning. <BR> <I>Ex. In air-conditioned buildings the air is kept at the most comfortable temperature.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airconditioner">
<B>air conditioner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> equipment used to air-condition a building, room, car, or other enclosed area. </DL>
<A NAME="airconditioning">
<B>air conditioning,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a means of treating air in a building, room, car, or other enclosed area, to free it from dust and to regulate its temperature and amount of moisture. <BR> <I>Ex. Air conditioning is the use of a refrigerant which is cooled by pressure changes in a condenser and cycled through a coil. Air then is blown over the cold coil (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aircontrol">
<B>air control,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>military control of an airspace. <DD><B> 2. </B>control of a hostile force or nation by means of a superior air or space power. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=air traffic control.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="aircool">
<B>air-cool, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to remove heat from (an internal-combustion engine) by forcing air on or around the cylinders. <DD><B> 2. </B>to remove heat from (a room or other enclosed area) by blowing cool air in. noun <B>air-cooler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="aircooled">
<B>air-cooled, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> cooled by having air blown on it. </DL>
<A NAME="aircooling">
<B>air-cooling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the reduction of heat by passing a current of air through or over heated areas. </DL>
<A NAME="aircore">
<B>air-core, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Electricity.) having a nonmetallic core. <BR> <I>Ex. an air-core transformer.</I> </DL>
<B>Air Corps,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the air arm of the U.S. Army from 1926 to 1941, a predecessor of the U.S. Air Force. </DL>
<A NAME="aircorridor">
<B>air corridor,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a passage or corridor over foreign-controlled territory open to aircraft as specified by government ruling or international agreement. <BR> <I>Ex. Along Western air corridors to Berlin, Soviet MIG-17s began making closeup inspections of U.S. passenger liners (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aircover">
<B>air cover,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a force of aircraft protecting a land or sea operation, a convoy, or other group. <DD><B> 2. </B>the protection given by such a force. <BR> <I>Ex. The training of the Royal Air Force is ... to provide in daylight air cover for the craft carrying the troops and for the naval forces protecting them, and close support during the attack (Louis Mountbatten).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aircraft">
<B>aircraft, </B>noun, pl. <B>-craft.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an airplane, airship, helicopter, or balloon; any machine for flying in the air that is supported in flight by buoyancy (such as a balloon), or by the action of air (such as an airplane), or by reaction to one or more jet streams (such as a rocket). <DD><B> 2. </B>such machines collectively or as a class; airplanes, airships, helicopters, or balloons. <BR> <I>Ex. The rapid development of aircraft that could take off and land vertically soon might make obsolete many large airports and long runways (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="aircraftcarrier">
<B>aircraft carrier,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a warship designed as a base for aircraft, with a large, flat deck on which to land or take off. </DL>
<A NAME="aircraftman">
<B>aircraftman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B> <B>=aircraftsman.</B></DL>
<A NAME="aircraftsman">
<B>aircraftsman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an enlisted man of the lowest rating in the Royal Air Force. <DD><B> 2. </B>his equivalent in most other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. </DL>
<A NAME="aircraftswoman">
<B>aircraftswoman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-women.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an enlisted woman in the Royal Air Force who is equivalent in rank to an aircraftsman. </DL>
<A NAME="aircraftwoman">
<B>aircraftwoman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-women.</B> <B>=aircraftswoman.</B></DL>
<A NAME="aircrew">
<B>aircrew, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the crew that flies an aircraft but does not service it (distinguished from <I>ground crew</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="aircrewman">
<B>aircrewman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a member of a crew that flies in an aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="aircure">
<B>air-cure, </B>transitive verb, <B>-cured,</B> <B>-curing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to cure (tobacco or lumber) by the action of the air alone, without heating it. Air-cured tobacco is dried by leaving the leaf out in the sun, and then in constant circulation of air in well-ventilated barns. </DL>
<B>air curtain,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a mass of air heated or cooled and circulated around the entrance of a store, building, or the like, to hold in or keep out warm air, according to the season, serving in place of a conventional door. </DL>
<A NAME="aircushion">
<B>air cushion,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a cushion inflated with air instead of being stuffed. <DD><B> 2. </B>a device by which pressure or shock is absorbed by air. </DL>
<A NAME="aircushionvehicle">
<B>air cushion vehicle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a vehicle that travels a few feet above the surface of land or water on a cushion of air produced by a system of fans; ground effect machine; hovercraft. (Abbr:) ACV. </DL>
<A NAME="aircylinder">
<B>air cylinder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a cylinder filled with air and having a piston, for checking the recoil of a gun. </DL>
<A NAME="airdefense">
<B>air defense,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system of defense against air attack, using aircraft, missiles, and other weapons, and electronic detection of attacking aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="airdoor">
<B>air door,</B> <B>=air curtain.</B></DL>
<A NAME="airdrag">
<B>air drag,</B> <B>=air resistance.</B></DL>
<A NAME="airdriven">
<B>air-driven, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> deriving its power from compressed air. <BR> <I>Ex. an air-driven dental drill.</I> </DL>
<B>airdrop, </B>noun, verb, <B>-dropped,</B> <B>-dropping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the act or system of delivering food, supplies, cargo, or persons by parachute from aircraft in flight. <BR> <I>Ex. But Army rescue teams radioed that in many cases where food was urgently needed it was impossible to attempt airdrops (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to deliver (food, supplies, cargo, or persons) by parachute from aircraft in flight. </DL>
<A NAME="airdry">
<B>air-dry, </B>verb, <B>-dried,</B> <B>-drying,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to dry by airing. <DD><I>adj. </I> so dry that no evaporation takes place. </DL>
<A NAME="airduct">
<B>air duct,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pipe or duct for conveying outside air into a building. </DL>
<A NAME="airedale">
<B>Airedale, </B>noun, or <B>Airedale terrier,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large terrier having a wiry brown or tan coat with dark markings. Airedales were originally bred to hunt small game. </DL>
