windsock

American  

[wind-sok] / ˈwɪndˌsɒk /

Or wind sock

noun

1. a tapered, tubular cloth vane, open at both ends and having at the larger end a fixed ring pivoted to swing freely, installed at airports or elsewhere to indicate wind direction and approximate intensity.

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windsock British  

/ ˈwɪndˌsɒk /

noun

1. Also called: air sock.   drogue.   wind sleeve.   wind cone.  a truncated cone of textile mounted on a mast so that it is free to rotate about a vertical axis: used, esp at airports, to indicate the local wind direction

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Etymology

Origin of windsock

First recorded in 1925–30; wind ¹ + sock ¹

Example Sentences

For one of McKay’s major numbers, a blow-up windsock man you might see promoting a business on the side of a freeway was an unexpected inspiration.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2024

And at the top of the final jump, a bright red windsock stuck straight out almost all afternoon.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2022

His kick missed to the left and hit the windsock on top of the post.

From Fox News • Oct. 11, 2021

As Booth approached the canyon, he took note that other parked helicopters were pointing different directions and saw a windsock “waving like a waffle.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 14, 2021

A windsock at the end of the field, swollen with moderate gusts, pointed like an absurd finger past the control tower and to the far runway.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy