power dive
- noun
- Specialized
:
dive de potencia
- As the helicopter approached the rescue site, it performed a steep power dive to quickly reach the ground.
Examples
-
During the airshow, the pilot amazed the crowd with a thrilling power dive from great heights.
-
One of the pilots fainted from fear, we went into this power dive.
-
The fighter jet executed a powerful power dive to gain speed during the maneuver.
Synonyms
26
6.5
A steep nose-down descent by an aircraft during a maneuver
1
5.3
A sudden steep fall that often happens to a plane with its front pointing down or to prices
How Steep
- Specialized
20
4.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally built from 'power' (force/thrust) + 'dive' (steep descent), so a learner who knows both words can infer a dive that is aided or accelerated by engine power. This regular noun–noun compounding matches cross-linguistic patterns and is therefore immediately interpretable by a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun power dive comes from pilots: imagine a plane doing a sharp dive while the pilot uses extra power from the engine to make it go down faster. That's why it means 'a steep, fast descent made with the engine's power'.