Airplanes refers to aircraft designed for air travel, typically fixed-wing vehicles with propulsion and landing gear. In everyday use, the plural form denotes more than one aircraft. The term combines air (the atmosphere) and planes (short for airplanes), and is used across aviation, travel, and logistics contexts to discuss fleets, routes, or schedules.
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US: rhotic /r/ is pronounced, the /eər/ diphthong is broad and the /nz/ final is voiced. UK: non-rhotic tendencies may reduce the /r/; keep /eə/ with a light /r/ if your accent allows; AU: rhotic in many speakers, but variable; prefer a slightly broader /eə/ and secure /z/ end. Use IPA cues: /ˈeərˌpleɪnz/ (US), /ˈeəˌpleɪnz/ (UK), /ˈeəpleɪnz/ (AU).
"The airplanes lined up on the tarmac before dawn."
"Two airliners clipped wings as they taxied past the terminal; the airspace was crowded with planes."
"Researchers studied the airframes and engines of several airplanes for safety improvements."
"We compared fuel efficiency across different airframes and Airplanes at the airport."
The term airplanes originates from the combination of air, referring to the atmosphere or the medium of flight, and planes, a shortened form of aeroplanes. The word aeroplane itself traces to the French aeroplane, formed from the Greek aeros (air) and planos (wanderer/plane). The English adoption shifted to airplane in American usage and aeroplane in British usage in the 19th–20th centuries. Early aviation pioneers discussed ‘flying machines’ and ‘air planes,’ with the modern fused form becoming standard around the mid-20th century in the U.S. and later in other variants. The pluralized form airplanes aligns with the English pluralization pattern for compound words ending with planes, used in aviation literature and commercial discourse to denote multiple aircraft."
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "airplanes" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "airplanes" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "airplanes"
-nes sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as two syllables with stress on the first: /ˈeərˌpleɪnz/ in US and UK variants. Start with the diphthong /eə/ (as in 'air') produced with an open-mid front tongue position, then lift into /r/ (US rhotic) or a reduced /ə/ in some accents, followed by /pleɪnz/ where /pl/ coalesces and the final /z/ voicing is clear. Mouth: lips neutral, tongue slightly raised for /eə/, rounded for /ɪ/ not present here. Audio reference: consult native listening resources like Pronounce or Forvo for auditory confirmation.
Common errors include misplacing stress (treating as /ˈeərˌplænz/ with wrong vowel in second syllable) and softening /z/ to /s/ in some dialects. Another mistake is conflating /ˈeə/ with /æ/ or dropping the /r/ sound in non-rhotic accents leading to /ˈeəˌplenz/ or /ˈeəplenz/. Correct by isolating /ˈeər/ first, ensure you maintain the /ɪ/ sound absent here, and end with a clear /nz/ vocalization.
In US English, /ˈeərˌpleɪnz/ with rhotic /r/ and a strong /z/ final; in UK English, /ˈeəˌpleɪnz/ with non-rhoticity often de-emphasizing /r/ and a slightly tighter /eə/; in Australian English, /ˈeəpleɪnz/ with a broader diphthong /eː/ and clearer /ɹ/ depending on speaker; overall rhythm remains trochaic but may shift with connected speech. Accent differences are subtle and rely on vowel shifts and rhotic presence.
The difficulty centers on the rapid transition between two vowels in a diphthong sequence /ˈeər/ followed by /pleɪnz/, plus the voicing of /z/ at the end in fluent speech. Non-native rhythm and syllable structure can also complicate the two-syllable stress pattern, and connecting /r/ to the following /p/ can create a blurring of consonant boundaries. Practice distinguishing the diphthong glide and maintaining final voiced consonant.
The word ends with a voiced sibilant /z/ after a consonant cluster /nz/. A common slip is de-voicing to /s/ in fast speech; ensure the final /z/ remains voiced and audible. The secondary stress typically lands on the second syllable in connected speech, but careful speakers may retain stronger primary stress on the first syllable when emphasizing the subject (Airplanes vs. The airplanes).
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