aerostat
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˈɛəroʊˌstæt/
- Specialized
:
aerostato
- Got my bearings from the GPS, shook hands again with the aerostat, and checked in with Serena and Stoltz.
- aerostat balloon
Examples
-
The Defense Department has invested $7 billion over the past six years in airship research, about 80 percent of that in "aerostats" -- tethered balloons or blimps -- used for surveillance in Afghanistan and on the Mexican border, the GAO report said.
Blog text (10) -
When you enter the park at night, an aerostat—a little flying robot about the size of a football—tags along behind you to light your way.
Fiction book (1997) -
About two hives, all slaved into the aerostat relay.
Fiction book (1998) -
KYLE: Aerostat!
-
I give Badger a heads-up over the aerostat relay and tell him what's coming his way.
Fiction book (1998) -
Terra Firma is set on Voyageur, an aerostat in the Venusian atmosphere.
Blog text (26) -
Shaped like a huge squat pagoda, the port sat atop a giant aerostat, a relic from days when only Ariel's uppermost atmosphere was habitable.
Fiction book (2000) -
Not a big aerostat, but a little sky island—taut helium tanks supporting a bamboo pavilion braced by gaily colored lines.
Fiction book (1998) -
An aerostat filled with helium floated gracefully above the festival, providing stunning aerial views.
-
The army deployed an aerostat to monitor the area from above, utilizing its lighter-than-air capabilities.
Synonyms
190
1.0
A large bag filled with hot air or gas that rises and floats in the sky
42
8.2
A large airship with a metal frame used to carry people and sometimes bombs in the early 1900s
28
5.7
A small soft flying balloon used to carry cameras or show ads
21
5.6
A large steerable flying machine filled with a light gas like helium
16
3.1
A large bag filled with hot air that lifts people in a basket
1
5.9
An aircraft that floats because it is lighter than the air, like a balloon or airship
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
aerostat = aero + stat
The combining form 'aero' (air) is fairly recognizable, but the element 'stat' (standing/stationary) is a less familiar combining form, so the specific meaning 'lighter-than-air aircraft' is only partly inferable.
Etymology
The word aerostat comes from two parts: aero- meaning 'air' and -stat meaning 'to stand', like in static. So an aerostat is something that 'stands' in the air — a balloon or airship that floats and stays up.