Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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 ]