glider

[ glahy-der ]

noun

1. a motorless, heavier-than-air aircraft for gliding from a higher to a lower level by the action of gravity or from a lower to a higher level by the action of air currents.
2. a porch swing made of an upholstered seat suspended from a steel framework by links or springs.
3. a person or thing that glides.
4. a person who pilots a glider.

glider

/ ˈɡlaɪdə /

noun

1. an aircraft capable of gliding and soaring in air currents without the use of an engine See also sailplane
2. a person or thing that glides
3. another name for flying phalanger

Word History and Origins

Origin of glider¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; glide, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Lieutenant Dermod Green Anderson, a glider pilot who landed with his troops in a village northwest of Arnhem, was killed when an enemy shell exploded near his trench just hours before the evacuation order came.

From BBC

Smoke released from the leading plane allowed cameras installed in the towed aircraft to capture vortices in the air that a glider can exploit to stay aloft.

From BBC

He was one of 181 hand-picked soldiers who packed into six gliders on the eve of D-Day, ready to fly into Normandy and battle.

From BBC

One of eight children, the 19-year-old landed by glider near the town on 6 June 1944.

From BBC

Tens of thousands of Allied troops landed in gliders and on the beaches of northern France on 6 June 1944.

From BBC