antiaircraft

1 of 2

adjective

an·​ti·​air·​craft ˌan-tē-ˈer-ˌkraft How to pronounce antiaircraft (audio)
ˌan-ˌtī-
: designed for or concerned with defense against air attack

antiaircraft

2 of 2

noun

: antiaircraft guns or their fire

Examples of antiaircraft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
And antiaircraft weapons would come with strings attached. Andrew J. Tabler, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2014 Although antiaircraft guns would not take care of the regime’s weapon of choice -- artillery -- civilians would at least have less reason to flee to Turkey and Jordan, which are already overwhelmed with refugees and fear spillover violence. Andrew J. Tabler, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2014
Noun
Editors’ Picks After the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine managed to keep Russia from controlling the skies through air combat and the skillful use of antiaircraft missiles. Constant Méheut, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Struck by antiaircraft flak, two of the plane’s four engines lost power as Mr. Spiegel reversed course to return to England. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 In that case, investigators determined that a Russian antiaircraft weapon was used, and two former Russian security agents and a third defendant were convicted in absentia of murder by a Dutch court. Isabelle Khurshudyan, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024 Comparatively, the British Royal Air Force conducted night bombing of entire cities—an approach designed to both lower the risk of encountering antiaircraft resistance and retaliate against Germany for the Blitz bombing campaign. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2024 Ukraine also needs antiaircraft and attack missiles to strike fast-moving airborne targets. Eric Schmidt, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2024 The United States is also concerned about General Hamdan’s ties to Russia’s Wagner mercenaries, who supplied him with antiaircraft missiles in the early months of the war. Declan Walsh, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2024 Austin announced that the U.S. military would send approximately $100 million in additional donations of U.S. equipment to Kyiv, including Stinger antiaircraft missiles, artillery shells and cold-weather gear. Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023 Ignoring pleas from around the world, Taliban fighters detonated explosives and fired antiaircraft guns to smash the immense sixth-century reliefs to pieces. Rick Noack, Anchorage Daily News, 15 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antiaircraft.' 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

Adjective

1911, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of antiaircraft was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near antiaircraft

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

antiaircraft

adjective
an·​ti·​air·​craft
ˌant-ē-ˈa(ə)r-ˌkraft,
-ˈe(ə)r-
: designed or used for defense against aircraft
an antiaircraft gun

More from Merriam-Webster on antiaircraft

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