ejection seat

American  

noun

1. an airplane seat that can be ejected with the pilot in an emergency.

---

ejection seat British  

noun

1. a seat, esp as fitted to military aircraft, that is fired by a cartridge or rocket to eject the occupant from the aircraft in an emergency

---

Etymology

Origin of ejection seat

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Click the trigger and the BlackFly noses down, bringing the pilot to a position more like a gaming chair than an ejection seat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

Investigators identified ejection seat failure as a partial cause of an F-16 crash that killed 1st Lt.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2024

For example, the version of the F-35 used by the Marine Corps, the F-35B, is the only variant that has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat.

From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 2023

Now the ejection seat by the Martin-Baker aircraft company has become a standard part of aircraft and pilot safety around the world.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2021

An ejection seat is simply the aluminum seat the pilot sits in, with a small rocket motor built into the back of it.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins