parachute
Americannoun
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a folding, umbrellalike, fabric device with cords supporting a harness or straps for allowing a person, object, package, etc., to float down safely through the air from a great height, especially from an aircraft, rendered effective by the resistance of the air that expands it during the descent and reduces the velocity of its fall.
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Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.
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Informal.
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the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft
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(in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency
Other Word Forms
- parachuter noun
- parachutic adjective
- parachutist noun
Etymology
Origin of parachute
1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- 2 + chute fall; chute 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A second video verified by Storyful showed people parachuting to the ground nearby.
I had to trust Regan in the same desperate way that a skydiver trusts his parachute, and that feeling was uncomfortable for someone like me.
From Literature
During World War Two, the RAF's No.620 Squadron's fleet used the base for airborne forces operations which included parachute drops of troops and supplies and towing Airspeed Horsa assault gliders.
From BBC
Skydive South West, which operates out of Devon's Dunkeswell Aerodrome, where the man died, said he was using his personal parachute equipment while doing a wingsuit jump with a friend on Saturday.
From BBC
Jalalabad residents told AFP that they saw a person who parachuted from the plane before being detained.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
