air force

/ˈɛə(ɹ)ˌfɔː(ɹ)s/

noun

A branch of the military mainly devoted to air warfare, as opposed to (land) army and (sea) navy.

“When you're in the air force you have to be prepared to launch missiles at people from the air.”

Similar
USAFUnited States Air ForceU.S. Air ForceU. S. Air ForceUS Air Forceairforce
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Meanings

air force1

nounair force (plural air forces)

plural air forces · alternative airforce

  1. A branch of the military mainly devoted to air warfare, as opposed to (land) army and (sea) navy.

    When you're in the air force you have to be prepared to launch missiles at people from the air.

  2. A unit in the U.S. Air Force larger than a division but smaller than a command.

Air Force2

proper noun

alternative Airforce

  1. governmentThe military air force of a particular armed forces.
  2. USabbreviationellipsisgovernmentEllipsis of United States Air Force.

    Synonyms: USAF, United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force

  3. USabbreviationellipsishobbiesEllipsis of Air Force Falcons sports teams representing the United States Air Force Academy.

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounEllipsis of United States Air Force.

Similar
USAFUnited States Air ForceU.S. Air Force

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe airforce of the United States of America; the agency that defends the United States through control and exploitation of air and space

Similar
United States Air ForceU. S. Air ForceUS Air ForceUSAF
Broader
agencyfederal agencygovernment agency

nounthe airborne branch of a country's armed forces

Similar
airforce
Broader
military servicearmed serviceservice
Also see
chair force

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Afrikaans lugmag
  • lugmagbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Arabic سِلَاح طَيَرَان
  • سِلَاح طَيَرَان (silāḥ ṭayarān)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Basque aireko indar, aireko armada
  • aireko indarbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • aireko armadabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Bengali বিমানবাহিনী
  • বিমানবাহিনী (bimanbahini)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Bulgarian вое́нновъзду́шни си́ли, ВВС
  • вое́нновъзду́шни си́ли (voénnovăzdúšni síli)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • ВВС (VVS)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Catalan força aèria
  • força aèriabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Chinese Mandarin 空軍 /空军, 美國空軍 /美国空军
  • 空軍 /空军 (kōngjūn)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • 美國空軍 /美国空军 (Mĕiguó kōngjūn)unit in the U.S. Air Force
Czech letectvo, vzdušné síly
  • letectvobranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • vzdušné sílybranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Danish flyvevåben, luftvåben
  • flyvevåbenbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • luftvåbenbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • luftstyrkebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Dutch luchtmacht
  • luchtmachtbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Esperanto aerarmeo, flugarmeo
  • aerarmeobranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • flugarmeobranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Estonian lennuvägi
  • lennuvägibranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Finnish ilmavoimat, ilmavoimat
  • ilmavoimatbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • ilmavoimatunit in the U.S. Air Force
French armée de l'air, forces aériennes
  • armée de l'airbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • forces aériennesbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
German Luftwaffe, Luftstreitkräfte
  • Luftwaffebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • Luftstreitkräftebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Greek αεροπορία, πολεμική αεροπορία
  • αεροπορία (aeroporía)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • πολεμική αεροπορία (polemikí aeroporía)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Hebrew חיל אוויר, חֵיל אֲוִיר
  • חיל אווירbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • חֵיל אֲוִיר (kheil avír)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Hindi वायु सेना, वायुदल
  • वायु सेना (vāyu senā)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • वायुदल (vāyudal)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Hungarian légierő
  • légierőbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Icelandic flugher
  • flugherbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Indonesian angkatan udara
  • angkatan udarabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Irish aerarm, aerfhórsa
  • aerarmbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • aerfhórsabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Italian aeronautica militare, forze aeree
  • aeronautica militarebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • forze aereebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • forza aereabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Japanese 空軍
  • 空軍 (kūgun)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Korean 공군
  • 공군 (gonggun)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Latvian gaisa spēki
  • gaisa spēkibranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Lithuanian karinės oro pajėgos
  • karinės oro pajėgosbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Malay tentera udara
  • tentera udarabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Māori tauā rangi
  • tauā rangibranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Norwegian Bokmål flyvåpen, luftforsvar
  • flyvåpenbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • luftforsvarbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Polish siły powietrzne, siły powietrzne
  • siły powietrznebranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • siły powietrzneunit in the U.S. Air Force
Portuguese força aérea
  • força aéreabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Romanian forță aeriană, aviație militară
  • forță aerianăbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • aviație militarăbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Russian вое́нно-возду́шные си́лы, ВВС
  • вое́нно-возду́шные си́лы (vojénno-vozdúšnyje síly)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • ВВС (VVS)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Slovak vojenské letectvo, vzdušné sily
  • vojenské letectvobranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • vzdušné silybranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Spanish fuerza aérea
  • fuerza aéreabranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Swedish flygvapen
  • flygvapenbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Tagalog hukbong-panghimpapawid
  • hukbong-panghimpapawidbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Tamil வான்படை
  • வான்படை (vāṉpaṭai)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Thai กองทัพอากาศ
  • กองทัพอากาศ (gɔɔng-táp-aa-gàat)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Turkish hava kuvetleri
  • hava kuvetleribranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Ukrainian військо́во-пові́тряні си́ли
  • військо́во-пові́тряні си́ли (vijsʹkóvo-povítrjani sýly)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Urdu فِضائِیَہ
  • فِضائِیَہ (fizāiya)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Vietnamese không quân, không lực
  • không quânbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • không lựcbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Welsh llu awyr, awyrlu
  • llu awyrbranch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • awyrlubranch of the military devoted to air warfare
Yiddish לופֿטאַרמיי, לופֿט־כּוחות
  • לופֿטאַרמיי (luftarmey)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • לופֿט־כּוחות (luft-koykhes)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • לופֿטמאַכט (luftmakht)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
  • לופֿטפֿלאָט (luftflot)branch of the military devoted to air warfare
Cite this entry
APA

air force. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/air%20force

MLA

“air force.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/air%20force. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “air force,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/air%20force.

Source: air force on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.