wing
20
6.3
- noun
- /wɪŋ/
- Jargon
- The 101st Airborne Division is celebrated for its operational excellence, with its wing leading many successful missions.
- an air wing
- a military wing
Examples
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During the training exercise, the young pilots were excited to be part of the new fighter jet wing being deployed.
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It was directed to the 843rd Bomb Wing on airborne alert.
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All inmates will return to their wings for count.
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The battle began when Alexander led his wing out to the right, a move that took the Persians by surprise.
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General Campbell's wing will be leading the bombardment.
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After receiving his navy gold flight wings in Pensacola, he served two tours of sea duty.
Academic text (2014) -
Wing Commander T.l. Fowler... reporting for duty.
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Get on the horn to the 45th Recon Wing, see what the hell they're testing up there.
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Pigeons take wing as Rath sees the rifle twist up, firing wildly into the sky.
Fiction book (1995) -
The radio-tracking crews were from Rahmani's own Counterintelligence wing, drafted in from Baghdad and the best he had.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
5
4.8
A group in an air force that uses aircraft for missions
2
5.4
A unit of the United States Air Force larger than a squadron and smaller than a wing
Idioms
Compounds
202
3.8
People who support conservative political, social, and economic ideas and little change
6
8.4
A senior Royal Air Force officer who is above a squadron leader and below a group captain
- Specialized
1
6.9
A set of long rotating blades on a helicopter that lift it and let it hover
- Specialized
1
8.9
A South American plant with wing-shaped leaves and red flower clusters
- Specialized
1
5.5
A small metal part with flat side pieces you can turn by hand to hold things together
- Specialized
1
7.8
One of the front pair of thin parts an insect uses to fly when it has four wings
- US
1
9.6
A North American tree with rough, thick bumps on its branches that look like wings
- Specialized
A small stiff group of feathers on the front edge of a bird's wing that helps control flight when landing
- Specialized
A small group of stiff feathers on a bird's thumb that helps control flight
How Big
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wing for a military unit of aircraft borrows the bird image: small groups of planes were named after a bird's wing, so a flying 'wing' became a group of squadrons that work together.