nonrigid

[ non-rij-id ]

adjective

1. not rigid.
2. designating a type of airship having a flexible gas container without a supporting structure and held in shape only by the pressure of the gas within.

nonrigid

/ nɒnˈrɪdʒɪd /

adjective

1. not rigid; flexible
2. (of the gas envelope of an airship) flexible and held in shape only by the internal gas pressure

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonrigid¹

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + rigid

Example Sentences

Some areas do offer plastic bag drop-offs, which send these nonrigid plastics to special facilities for recycling.

From New York Times

Mathews, P. M., Herring, T. A. & Buffett, B. A. Modeling of nutation and precession: new nutation series for nonrigid Earth and insights into the Earth’s interior.

From Nature

A blimp is just one type of airship, usually a small one, and always nonrigid, meaning that it has no structural hull; its shape is maintained by the pressure of the lifting gas within.

From The New Yorker

Advances in material technology made nonrigid airships the better design choice, in Boyd’s view.

From The New Yorker