parachute

American  

[par-uh-shoot] / ˈpær əˌʃut /

noun

1. a folding, umbrellalike, fabric device with cords supporting a harness or straps for allowing a person, object, package, etc., to float down safely through the air from a great height, especially from an aircraft, rendered effective by the resistance of the air that expands it during the descent and reduces the velocity of its fall.

2. parachute brake.

3. Horology. a shockproofing device for the balance staff of a watch, consisting of a yielding, springlike support for the bearing at either end.

4. Informal.

   1. the aggregate of benefits, as severance pay or vacation pay, given an employee who is dismissed from a company.

   2. golden parachute.

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verb (used with object)

parachuted, parachuting

1. to drop or land (troops, equipment, supplies, etc.) by parachute.

verb (used without object)

parachuted, parachuting

1. to descend by parachute.

parachute British  

/ ˈpærəˌʃuːt /

noun

1. 1. a device used to retard the fall of a man or package from an aircraft, consisting of a large fabric canopy connected to a harness

   2. Sometimes shortened to: chute.  ( as modifier ) See also brake parachute

      parachute troops

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verb

1. (of troops, supplies, etc) to land or cause to land by parachute from an aircraft

2. (in an election) to bring in (a candidate, esp someone well known) from outside the constituency

Other Word Forms

• parachuter noun
• parachutic adjective
• parachutist noun

Etymology

Origin of parachute

1775–85; < French, equivalent to para- para- ² + chute fall; chute ¹

Example Sentences

One of them, Andrew Barry, said he would also resign from the party in a row over other candidates being "parachuted in" to his area.

From BBC

Once that stage is complete, parachutes will slow the spacecraft before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

From Barron's

The capsule is designed to land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean, not far from San Diego.

From The Wall Street Journal

Once that stage is complete, powerful parachutes will slow the spacecraft, which will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

From Barron's

In the early 1990s, he got into parasailing, strapping tourists into parachutes and towing them behind a speed boat.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bounce
• bound
• dive
• drop
• fall
• hop
• plummet
• skip
• surge
• take
• top
• vault