drogue

[ drohg ]

noun

1. a bucket or canvas bag used as a sea anchor.
2. Aeronautics.
   1. a funnel-shaped device attached to the end of a hose on a tanker aircraft for connecting with the probe of another aircraft to be refueled in flight.
   2. drogue parachute ( def 1 ).

drogue

/ drəʊɡ /

noun

1. any funnel-like device, esp one of canvas, used as a sea anchor
2. 1. a small parachute released behind a jet aircraft to reduce its landing speed
   2. a small parachute released before a heavier main parachute during the landing of a spacecraft
3. a device towed behind an aircraft as a target for firing practice
4. a funnel-shaped device on the end of the refuelling hose of a tanker aircraft, to assist stability and the location of the probe of the receiving aircraft
5. another name for windsock

Word History and Origins

Origin of drogue¹

1715–25; earlier drug, common dialectal variant of drag

Word History and Origins

Origin of drogue¹

C18: probably based ultimately on Old English dragan to draw

Example Sentences

Next up were the drogue and main onboard parachutes, that latter of which deployed when the capsule was 5,300 feet above the Pacific Ocean, slowing its speed to a mere 20 miles an hour.

From Scientific American

At the end of the tube is a measurement device called a drogue that extends out as the reel unwinds and collects airspeed, pressure and temperature data from the air behind the jet.

From Seattle Times

At that point, a small parachute called the drogue deployed, adding additional drag.

From New York Times

Once the rocket reaches an altitude of about 8.3 miles up, it deploys a drogue parachute to slow its fall, followed by a main parachute.

From The Verge

A set of smaller drogue parachutes deployed to slow and stabilize the vehicle as it fell through the atmosphere, and the four massive main chutes unfurled before the soft touchdown.

From Washington Post