line of flight
1
7.0
- noun
- Specialized
:
trayectoria
- As the airplane took off, I watched its line of flight ascend into the clear blue sky.
- intended line of flight
Examples
-
Ball moves away from the intended line of flight to position behind the head via circular overhead movement with the elbow extended, or oblique swing back, or vertical lift from the hip.
Academic text (1997) -
He countered with the Orno's ability to rise or fall swiftly, letting the Sopwiths commit to a line of flight just before he dropped or jumped out of it.
Fiction book (1999) -
It was a dramatic line of flight.
Academic text (2011) -
Ball moves away from the intended line of flight to a position behind the head via a circular, downward, and backward motion that carries the hand below the waist.
Academic text (1997) -
The ball moves away from the intended line of flight to a position behind or alongside the head by upward flexion of the humerus and concomitant elbow flexion.
Academic text (1997) -
The drone's line of flight was precisely calculated to avoid any obstacles during its mission.
-
During the experiment, we analyzed the line of flight of the paper airplane to determine its aerodynamics.
Synonyms
141
7.0
A curved path a moving object like a ball or rocket follows through the sky
19
3.9
The route a plane or rocket follows through the sky
11
5.5
The path a bullet or other shot follows after being fired
A curved path an object follows through the air after it is fired, like a bullet or shell
How Direct
- Specialized
1
7.0
- Specialized
19
3.9
- Specialized
141
7.0
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the path taken by a moving object as it travels through the air' is directly compositional from 'line' (a long mark or path) + 'of' (genitive relation) + 'flight' (trajectory), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it. The noun + of + noun construction and similar terms in other languages (e.g. 'línea de vuelo', 'ligne de vol', 'linha de voo') make the concept cross-linguistically transparent for B1 learners.
Etymology
The noun line of flight comes from the simple picture of an invisible line that traces the flight of a bird, ball, or drone through the air. So, it means the 'path taken by a moving object as it travels through the air'.