contrail

noun

con·​trail ˈkän-ˌtrāl How to pronounce contrail (audio)
: streaks of condensed water vapor created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes

Examples of contrail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Last week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on X what seemed like an endorsement of a notorious conspiracy theory that the contrails left by aircraft are releasing chemicals for potentially nefarious reasons. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 15 July 2025 Some contrails last long enough for other planes to fly by creating crisscrossing lines. Skyler Swisher, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 July 2025 In the opening sequence of The Brutalist which takes place in 1947, there is a jet contrail in the sky overhead. Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2025 What if cancer could be caught not through imaging or invasive exams but through its molecular contrails in the blood? Siddhartha Mukherjee, New Yorker, 16 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for contrail

Word History

Etymology

condensation trail

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contrail was in 1943

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Contrail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrail. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

contrail

noun
con·​trail ˈkän-ˌtrāl How to pronounce contrail (audio)
: a stream of visible water or ice particles created in the air by an airplane or rocket at high altitudes

More from Merriam-Webster on contrail

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!