: the speed (as of an airplane) with relation to the air compare ground speed
Examples of airspeed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These components include a flight controller with autopilot, navigation modules and antennas and an airspeed sensor.
—
Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
One is adequate airspeed and the other one is a rate of climb.
—Hannah Parry
barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
In 1976, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird set an airspeed record of 2,193 mph, which has also never been bettered.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2025
Many technologies have had phases where customers eagerly embrace every improvement in some parameter—until a saturation point is reached and improvements are ultimately met with a collective shrug.
Consider a very brief history of airspeed in commercial air travel.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airspeed
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
One is adequate airspeed and the other one is a rate of climb.
—Hannah Parry
barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
In 1976, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird set an airspeed record of 2,193 mph, which has also never been bettered.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2025
Many technologies have had phases where customers eagerly embrace every improvement in some parameter—until a saturation point is reached and improvements are ultimately met with a collective shrug.
Consider a very brief history of airspeed in commercial air travel.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airspeed
Cite this Entry
“Airspeed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airspeed. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
airspeed
noun
air·speed
-ˌspēd 
: the speed of an airplane according to measurements of the surrounding air rather than of the ground below
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share