Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An aircraft that derives its lift from blades that rotate about an approximately vertical central axis.
- v. To go or transport by helicopter.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A flying-machine in which revolving screws or revolving helicoidal surfaces are depended upon to sustain the machine in the air.
Wiktionary
- n. An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover, move in any direction including reverse, or land; and having a smaller set of blades on its tail that stabilize the aircraft.
- n. a powered troweling machine with spinning blades used to spread concrete.
- n. a winged fruit of certain trees, such as ash, elm, and maple
- v. transitive To transport by helicopter.
- v. intransitive To travel by helicopter.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. a heavier-than-air aircraft whose lift is provided by the aerodynamic forces on rotating blades rather than on fixed wings. Contrasted with
fixed-wing aircraft . - v. to travel in a helicopter.
- v. to transport in a helicopter.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an aircraft without wings that obtains its lift from the rotation of overhead blades
Etymologies
- From French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (helix, "spiral") + πτερόν (pteron, "wing"). (Wiktionary)
- French hélicoptère : Greek helix, helik-, spiral; see helix + Greek pteron, wing; see -pter. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Perhaps you've heard the term "helicopter parenting" as a way to describe the way today's 20-somethings Gen Y were hovered over in childhood by their parents.”
“Rappelling down from a helicopter is a hostile action.”
“However the helicopter is at present a "fair weather bird" and cannot operate in conditions of poor visibility and severe turbulence.”
“Of all the things Erik Lindbergh remembers about his famous grandfather, one that sticks with him best is their debate over how to pronounce the word "helicopter.”
“I can't but help again reference the Wikipedia page on the Helicopter Drop: "The term helicopter money is meant to portray the image of a central banker dropping money on people from a helicopter.”
“The helicopter is falling towards a baseball game.”
“I like it, but I think that the helicopter is more likely to confuse prospective readers than interest them.”
Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Header Change
“The helicopter is swinging out over the Mall first instead of heading directly to Andrews.”
Live Blog: The Inauguration of Barack Obama - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
“Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images They will take a helicopter from the Mumbai airport and arrive close to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel where they will be staying.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘helicopter’.
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Visuals
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
photochrom, fufluns, thank you, cool l..., postcard, picture postcard, cricket, physiological ill..., Gakuryū Ishii, ametropia, One Froggy Evening, rhodopsin, Santiago Calatrava and 636 more...
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Up In The Air @ Wordnik
List of words, terms, and phrases pertaining to or referencing anything that lives, traverses, moves in, uses, or otherwise occupies the space above the ground we walk on. Words and phrases contain...
aeroallergen, aerial, aerial mapping, aerial root, aerobe, aerobiology, aerobioscope, aelophilous, anemotropism, anemoclastic, anafront, antitrades and 273 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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TRAN - air traffic control
sailplane, airway, taxiway, taxiing, heading, helicopter, runway, ceiling, obstacle, track, level, radar and 119 more...
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EU - Eurovoc - international relations
ABM Agreement, accession to a co..., accession to a tr..., accession to an a..., achievement of peace, ACP-EC Convention, advanced technolo..., aerospace industry, African organisation, aggression, agreement, agricultural coop... and 851 more...
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Ditrochaic Words with the Accent on t...
This is my favorite meter for single words. You could call it BUH-duh-buh-duh.
I collect them and cherish them; please add some. Phrases are also accepted if they've, you know, got it.helicopter, stratocaster, watermelon, telecaster, percolator, studebaker, flabbergasted, dramaturgy, carburator, copenhagen, pomegranate, metallurgy and 13 more...
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TRAN - air travel
Functional Airspa..., European Organisa..., EUROCONTROL, Single European Sky, SESAR, Single European S..., Future ATFM Profi..., aircraft hangar, aircraft speed, aircraft stall, aircraft stalls, airline analyst and 35 more...
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transportation
change, car, vehicle, cart, baggage, waiting room, ticket, bicycle, life jacket, railway, shared taxi, ferry and 27 more...
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opt
opt, optic, Coptic, option, adoption, co-opt, optimal, optical, optician, optometrist, apoptosis, hemoptysis and 21 more...
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favored
visceral, twinkle, whalebone, incandescent, carousel, entangle, brevity, desolate, twirl, deltoid, graceless, tryst and 94 more...
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ptero-, -pter
relating to or having wings
pterosaur, helicopter, pterodactyl, hymenopter, pteroclid, pteronophobia, homopterous, pterygoblast, pterylosis
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Words I like
This is a list of my favourite words (phrases) in english, as a second language. I love them mostly because of how they sound and their meaning.
ninja, cookie, skill, zip, plentiful, digg, debris, pancake, cucumber, fetch, pot, backpack and 461 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, H
hurlyburly, hurtle, hodgepodge, heartwood, hatch, halo, hooptedoodle, hacienda, hairpin, heyday, hardscrabble, hopper and 208 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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Wordie Working Overtime - some words ...
Some words of from XTC songs that I like or for some reason stand out. That and a dollar will get you a ride on the bus.
transistor, impaled, settee, sunspecs, neon, meccanic, infatuation, greenhouse, capers, consequence, excepted, helicopter and 112 more...
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TN5 Lesson 57
ship, queen, helicopter, even, in fact, no kidding!, airport, JFK, La Guardia, camel, Egypt, submarine and 1 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for helicopter.

yarb I will never fly in one again. Sep 26, 2012
ruzuzu "A flying-machine in which revolving screws or revolving helicoidal surfaces are depended upon to sustain the machine in the air."
--Cent. Dict. Sep 24, 2012