helicopter.
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 typically having a smaller set of blades on its tail to stabilize the aircraft.
Meaning & usage
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 typically having a smaller set of blades on its tail to stabilize the aircraft.
We flew over the city in a helicopter.
A powered troweling machine with spinning blades used to spread concrete.
The winged fruit of certain trees, such as ash, elm, and maple.
A dragonfly; so named due to its resemblance to a helicopter (sense 1).
A whirling trick performed with devil sticks.
A breakdance move in which the dancer spins on the floor while extending the legs to resemble the blades of a helicopter.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *welH-der. Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix) Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ Proto-Hellenic *pterón Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón) French hélicoptèrebor. English helicopter Borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine.
To transport by helicopter.
To travel by helicopter.
To rotate like a helicopter blade.
helicoptering his jacket, helicoptering his arms
To overprotect one's children, as a helicopter parent does.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *welH-der. Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix) Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ Proto-Hellenic *pterón Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón) French hélicoptèrebor. English helicopter Borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.