light plane
- noun
- /laɪt pleɪn/
- Before visiting Moore Hill, I spent an afternoon flying over northern Alabama in a light plane, inspecting endless pine plantations.
Examples
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Emergency personnel work at the scene where a light plane crashed in Melbourne.
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We are moving through a small airfield full of parked light planes.
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In the headlines tonight, six people have been killed... in the crash of a light plane near Lake Tahoe.
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We are moving through a small airfield full of parked light planes.
Fiction book (1996) -
Maybe you will rise now in your light plane over the open spaces of Africa, over her palmy woods, valleys, and lagoons.
Fiction book (2001) -
Later, Celia Sanchez, the village paramedic who became our friend, told us that the week before our arrival, a light plane had flown over the village dropping leaflets promoting Seventh-Day Adventism.
Academic text (1990) -
This place was relaxed, slow-moving—no giant liners inching toward a takeoff strip, just a few dozen parked light planes and a sign that said "rentals."
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
A very small lightweight plane for short flights that carries one or two people
Antonyms
How Light
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun combination: 'light' (low weight) modifying 'plane' (aircraft), so the meaning 'a small, lightweight airplane' is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common in English and in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Light plane: The noun light plane comes from the simple image of a light, not heavy, plane you can move and park on a small grass field. That's why it means 'a small airplane used for private or recreational flying'.