airline

1 of 2

noun (1)

air·​line ˈer-ˌlīn How to pronounce airline (audio)
: an air transportation system including its equipment, routes, operating personnel, and management

air line

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a straight line through the air between two points

Examples of airline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Restoring the confidence of airlines, regulators and passengers becomes more difficult with every new incident and bad headline. David Goldman, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Boeing had already reserved the bulk of the money for compensation to airlines, lessors and others affected by a worldwide ban on the model. Danny Lee, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 The issue of crew fatigue for airlines around the world has been exacerbated by a pilot shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Tonkin said. Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 According to the airline, those using the Digital ID for bag drops are seeing 75% faster transactions—averaging about 30 seconds—based on tens of thousands of uses. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Mar. 2024 United said the parts were related to a landing feature that was designed for other airlines, and United has only nine planes with those parts. David Koenig, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 The flight landed safely in Los Angeles around 1:30 p.m., and the airline was arranging a new aircraft for passengers to continue their trip to Japan, the United Airlines spokesperson said. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Vanguard Airlines Vanguard Airlines, a low-cost airline based in Kansas City, opened in 1994 and filed for bankruptcy in 2002, according to The Star’s archives. Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024 The airlines say legal obstacles would prevent the deal from taking place by their July 2024 deadline. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 5 Mar. 2024
Noun
State House Republicans did more than just verbally condemn Delta, and passed a bill that would revoke a jet fuel tax break that would likely cost the air line millions of dollars. Sanya Mansoor, Time, 2 Apr. 2021 In the searing heat, the air lines on the fire truck blew, locking the brakes and immobilizing the vehicle. Lauren Williams, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2020 Three two-man teams were taking 15-minute stints of exploring the vault Wednesday, using glow sticks and air lines. Vinny Vella, Philly.com, 13 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airline.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1844, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airline was in 1813

Dictionary Entries Near airline

Cite this Entry

“Airline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airline. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

airline

noun
air·​line -ˌlīn How to pronounce airline (audio)
: a system of transportation by airplanes including its routes, equipment, and workers

More from Merriam-Webster on airline

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!