Meanings
- governmentThe German air force, especially during the Second World War.
Owing to its location at the entrance to the River Tyne, South Shields was of strategic importance in the Second World War, especially to the merchant navy, and the town was heavily hit by a Luftwaffe strike in October 1941.
2021 September 8, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Electric tramways at the heart of our seaside story”, in RAIL, number 939, page 571 more example
Politicians insist that lockdown under coronavirus is like the experience of wartime. It’s not – except in one way, which I’ll come to. It’s so quiet, for one thing. War is noisy. Sirens, soldiers tramping past singing, Luftwaffe engines in the night sky.
2020 April 19, Neal Ascherson, “After the crisis, a new world won’t emerge as if by magic. We will have to fight for it”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 25 Feb 2021
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- GermanLuftwaffe
- EnglishLuftwaffe
Unadapted borrowing from German Luftwaffe (literally “an air-weapon”).
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian Луфтвафе
- Луфтвафе (Luftvafe)(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War
German Luftwaffe
- Luftwaffe(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War
Russian Люфтва́ффе
- Люфтва́ффе (Ljuftváffɛ)(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War
Ukrainian Люфтва́ффе
- Люфтва́ффе (Ljuftváffe)(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War
Cite this entry
Luftwaffe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Luftwaffe
“Luftwaffe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Luftwaffe. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Luftwaffe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Luftwaffe.
Source: Luftwaffe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.