hang glider

American  

noun

1. a kitelike glider consisting of a V -shaped wing underneath which the pilot is strapped: kept aloft by updrafts and guided by the pilot's shifting body weight.

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hang-glider British  

noun

1. an unpowered aircraft consisting of a large cloth wing stretched over a light framework from which the pilot hangs in a harness, using a horizontal bar to control the flight

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Other Word Forms

• hang-gliding noun

Etymology

Origin of hang glider

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The Helix is classified as a Part 103 ultralight aircraft, the same regulatory class as a hang glider.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

A duo of Cuban migrants were apprehended at Key West International Airport in Florida Saturday after flying there on a motorized hang glider.

From Washington Times • Mar. 25, 2023

Newly presented is German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal’s elegant Standard Glider, an antique version of the modern hang glider.

From Washington Post • Oct. 6, 2022

Thirty-three years later, Johns is still flying his hang glider from Samish Overlook.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 11, 2021

Even Ron would tell anyone who’d listen about the time he’d almost hit a hang glider on Charlie’s old broom.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling