<B>air jacket,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a space in which air is circulated to absorb excess heat, such as in a machine. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British.) an inflatable life jacket. </DL>
<A NAME="airland;">
<B>airland; </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to land and unload (troops or supplies) from aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="airlane">
<B>air lane,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a regular route used by aircraft; airway. </DL>
<A NAME="airlaunch">
<B>air-launch, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to launch from a flying aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="airlayering">
<B>air layering,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a method of causing a branch or stem to form roots for planting, by making a cut halfway through the branch and wrapping it in moist earth or moss. New roots form in the area of the cut. </DL>
<B>air letter,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a lightweight sheet of paper, often designed to fold and seal as an envelope, with a message on its inner surfaces. <DD><B> 2. </B>any letter sent by air mail; airmail letter. </DL>
<A NAME="airlift">
<B>airlift, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a system of using aircraft to transport passengers and freight to a place when existing land routes are closed or inadequate. <BR> <I>Ex. Medical supplies were brought by airlift to the flooded villages.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the aircraft used. <DD><B> 3. </B>the passengers or freight transported by such a system. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to transport by airlift. <BR> <I>Ex. Enough planes were provided to airlift two army divisions.</I> </DL>
<B>airlift pump,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pump used in oil wells and in mines consisting of a pipe for conducting air to the bottom of a long drop pipe that is submerged below the liquid. The mixture of air and liquid that is formed is lighter than the liquid outside the drop pipe, forcing the liquid to rise. </DL>
<A NAME="airline">
<B>airline, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a system of transporting people and things by aircraft. <DD><B> 2. </B>the company owning or operating such a system. <DD><B> 3. </B>a route for aircraft; airway; air lane. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Especially U.S.) a straight line through the air. </DL>
<A NAME="airline">
<B>air-line, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially U.S.) <DD><B> 1. </B>shortest possible. <BR> <I>Ex. the air-line distance to Chicago.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>straight. <BR> <I>Ex. an air-line highway.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airlinehostess">
<B>airline hostess</B> or <B>stewardess,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a stewardess on an airliner. Also, (British,) <B>air hostess.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="airliner">
<B>airliner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large passenger airplane. </DL>
<A NAME="airload">
<B>airload, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the total weight carried by an aircraft in flight exclusive of the aircraft itself, computed as the weight of the passengers, crew, cargo, and fuel. <DD><B> 2. </B>the aerodynamic force imposed upon a moving airfoil or other object. </DL>
<A NAME="airlock">
<B>air lock,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an airtight compartment between places where there is a difference in air pressure. The pressure in an air lock can be raised or lowered. <DD><B> 2. </B>a decompression chamber. <DD><B> 3. </B>the blocking of a liquid's flow, as through a tube, caused by the presence of air. </DL>
<A NAME="airlog">
<B>airlog, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the log kept by the pilot or commanding officer of an aircraft. <DD><B> 2. </B>a device for recording the distance traveled by a missile in the air. </DL>
<A NAME="airmail">
<B>air mail,</B> <B>=airmail,</B> noun.</DL>
<A NAME="airmail">
<B>airmail, </B>noun, verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>mail sent by aircraft. <DD><B> 2. </B>a system of sending mail by aircraft. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to send (anything) by airmail. <BR> <I>Ex. Please airmail this letter.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>sent or to be sent by aircraft. <BR> <I>Ex. an airmail letter.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the carrying of mail by air. </DL>
<A NAME="airman">
<B>airman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the pilot of an aircraft; aviator. <DD><B> 2. </B>one of the crew of an aircraft. <DD><B> 3. </B>an enlisted man ranking above an airman basic in the U.S. Air Force. </DL>
<A NAME="airmanbasic">
<B>airman basic,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an enlisted man of the lowest rank in the U.S. Air Force, comparable in grade to a private. </DL>
<A NAME="airmanfirstclass">
<B>airman first class,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an airman of the highest rank in the U.S. Air Force, ranking next below a sergeant. </DL>
<A NAME="airmanship">
<B>airmanship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> skill in aviation. </DL>
<A NAME="airmap">
<B>air map,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a map consisting of or based on aerial photographs. </DL>
<A NAME="airmark">
<B>airmark, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to mark as a guide for pilots of aircraft. <BR> <I>Ex. to airmark a landing strip.</I> noun <B>airmarker.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="airmarshal">
<B>air marshal,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rank in the Royal Air Force corresponding to vice-admiral or lieutenant general. </DL>
<A NAME="airmass">
<B>air mass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large body of air within the atmosphere that has nearly uniform temperature and humidity at any given level and moves horizontally over great distances without changing. </DL>
<A NAME="airmattress">
<B>air mattress,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pad that can be inflated to serve as a life raft, mattress, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="airmedal">
<B>Air Medal,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a decoration awarded to any person in the U.S. Air Force or air force of another branch of military service, for meritorious achievement while flying. </DL>
<A NAME="airmile">
<B>air mile,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a nautical mile, 6076.11549 feet, used as a measure of distance in the flight of aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="airminded">
<B>air-minded, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>interested in aviation. <DD><B> 2. </B>fond of air travel. noun <B>air-mindedness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="airministry">
<B>Air Ministry,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the department of the British government in charge of military aviation, and formerly also of civil aviation. </DL>
<A NAME="airmiss">
<B>air miss,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very narrow escape from collision between aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="airmobile">
<B>airmobile, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) moved to the front by air. <BR> <I>Ex. airmobile combat troops.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airmosaic">
<B>air mosaic,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a map consisting of strips of film taken by successive photographs from airplanes with special cameras. An air mosaic gives a bird's-eye view of the landscape. </DL>
<A NAME="airometer">
<B>airometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a container for holding and measuring air. <DD><B> 2. </B>an apparatus for measuring the quantity or rate of flow of air. </DL>
<A NAME="airpark">
<B>airpark, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small airport. </DL>
<A NAME="airpassage">
<B>air passage,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>accommodations for a trip by aircraft. <BR> <I>Ex. to book air passage from London to Rome.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any conduit for air, such as the nose or windpipe. </DL>
<A NAME="airpiracy">
<B>air piracy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the hijacking of aircraft; skyjacking. </DL>
<A NAME="airpirate">
<B>air pirate,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who commits air piracy; skyjacker. </DL>
<A NAME="airpistol">
<B>air pistol,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pistol that shoots a single pellet or dart, worked by compressed air. </DL>
<A NAME="airplane">
<B>airplane, </B>noun, verb, <B>-planed,</B> <B>-planing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> (U.S.) a flying machine that has one or more planes or wings and is driven by one or more propellers or jet engines or a rocket engine. An airplane is an aircraft heavier than air, supported in flight by the action of the air flowing past or thrusting upward on its fixed wings. Also, (especially British,) <B>aeroplane.</B> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to fly in an airplane. </DL>
<A NAME="airplanecarrier">
<B>airplane carrier,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) an aircraft carrier. </DL>
<A NAME="airplanecloth">
<B>airplane cloth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a plain, tightly woven, sturdy cotton fabric used as a luggage covering and in some garments. <DD><B> 2. </B>a similar linen fabric used to cover the frames of older airplanes. </DL>
<A NAME="airplaneluggage">
<B>airplane luggage,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) very lightweight luggage, made especially for air travel. </DL>
<A NAME="airplanespin">
<B>airplane spin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Wrestling.) a throw used especially by professional wrestlers. One wrestler lifts his opponent on his shoulders, whirls him about, and throws him down. </DL>
<A NAME="airplant">
<B>air plant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plant not connected with the ground and seeming to live on air; epiphyte. <BR> <I>Ex. Many orchids are air plants.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airplay">
<B>airplay, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the amount of broadcast time for a phonograph record. <BR> <I>Ex. The "underground" promotion man for the record company knew that reviews influenced FM airplay and availability in stores (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airpocket">
<B>air pocket,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a downward current of air that causes an airplane to lose altitude suddenly. An air pocket is caused by the sudden sinking of cooled air. </DL>
<A NAME="airpollution">
<B>air pollution,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the contamination of the air especially by industrial waste gases, fuel exhaust, or smoke. <BR> <I>Ex. The correlation of the number of deaths from bronchitis with both airborne dust and smoke is so pronounced that air pollution plays a major role (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="airport">
<B>airport, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a station with a field for airplanes to land and take off from, and buildings for keeping, repairing, and servicing airplanes and usually also for passengers; an area, especially on land, used regularly by aircraft. </DL>
