parachute

1 of 2

noun

para·​chute ˈper-ə-ˌshüt How to pronounce parachute (audio)
ˈpa-rə-
1
: a device for slowing the descent of a person or object through the air that consists of a fabric canopy beneath which the person or object is suspended
2
3
: a device or structure suggestive of a parachute in form, use, or operation
parachutic adjective

parachute

2 of 2

verb

parachuted; parachuting

transitive verb

: to convey by means of a parachute

intransitive verb

: to descend by means of a parachute

Examples of parachute in a Sentence

Noun The pilot was wearing a parachute. The supplies were dropped by parachute. Verb The soldiers parachuted in and quickly hid their gear. New troops parachuted into enemy territory. We will parachute supplies in after you arrive. New troops were parachuted into enemy territory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Five people were killed Friday after an apparent parachute malfunction caused a loaded crate to fall on people, according to a civil defense spokesman in Gaza. Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 Video of an air drop in the Gaza Strip this week appeared to show aid packages suffering a parachute malfunction, which local reports claim resulted in the deaths of several individuals. Peter Aitken, Fox News, 9 Mar. 2024 On the Internet, images of parachutes being used generally show people, not cats. Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024 From Brentford to Luton Town, Huddersfield Town to Blackpool no Premier League debutant from the past decade, who must have felt the gap unbridgeable, has called for the parachute payments to be axed. Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Related article Woman falls nearly 100 feet to her death within a Virginia cave Police confirmed that a parachute backpack was still attached to Odinson’s body and said the parachute kit likely malfunctioned. Kocha Olarn, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024 Bundles of books were flown to the Anzio beachhead, in Italy, dropped by parachute on remote Pacific islands, and stockpiled in warehouses in the spring of 1944, so that they could be shipped to the staging grounds for D Day. Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Gardner's main parachute never fully deployed to slow his descent, police in Eloy said. CBS News, 6 Feb. 2024 During it, Kwon had issues with the main and reserve parachutes, according to an FAA incident report. Stephen Hobbs, Sacramento Bee, 24 Jan. 2024
Verb
After leaving North Africa, Mr. Sadler was posted to an SAS training center in Scotland and then parachuted into France in 1944 after the D-Day invasion and took part in sabotage operations. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024 The actual flight capsule will parachute into the ocean south of San Diego, where a Navy recovery team will await them. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024 Evidently authenticating the footage, Mayor Karen Bass confirmed to TV station NBC4 that people were seen parachuting off the building. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024 The idea is to build expertise in home countries rather than needing Americans to parachute in when problems are detected, which takes too long and smacks of colonialism. Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2024 Ted Lasso's cast of characters are all memorable, each in their own way, but whenever Becky Ann Baker, 70, parachutes in as Ted Lasso's mother, there are moments that are both comical and scenes rife with drama between her and Jason Sudeikis. Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 7 Jan. 2024 Investigators said Jacob never intended to reach his destination but instead planned to eject himself during the flight and record himself parachuting to the ground as his plane descended and crashed. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2023 About a minute later, soon after the rocket surpassed the speed of sound, the vehicle triggered the abort maneuver, and the capsule separated from the booster to parachute into the sea. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 Oct. 2023 These airborne qualities parachute your heart up to your throat even before the terminal velocity of Yorke’s guitar, gnarled and striated as an ancient oak, signals absolution—or damnation. Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French, from para- (as in parasol parasol) + chute "fall" — more at chute

Verb

derivative of parachute entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1784, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1809, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of parachute was in 1784

Dictionary Entries Near parachute

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

parachute

1 of 2 noun
para·​chute ˈpar-ə-ˌshüt How to pronounce parachute (audio)
1
: a folding umbrella-shaped device of light fabric used especially for making a safe jump from an aircraft
2
: something (as the bunch of hairs on a dandelion seed) that is like a parachute in form, use, or operation

parachute

2 of 2 verb
parachuted; parachuting
: to transport or come down by means of a parachute
parachutist
-ˌshüt-əst
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on parachute

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