airbrake

plural airbrakes · alternative air brake

1. A brake (slowing device) that is operated pneumatically (by air pressure).

   The powerful airbrake of the truck quickly brought it to a stop.

   1 more example

   These VEAs (of which some 550 were built in total) would themselves have been converted from 1962 vanwides, refurbished and fitted with airbrakes specifically with Ministry of Defence munitions traffic in mind, as many military establishments and depots would have had track too sharply curved for newer airbraked wagons.

   2022 January 12, Chris Hegg, “The secret railway in the woods”, in RAIL, number 948, page 37

2. aeronauticsA movable control surface that extends to increase drag without affecting lift (unlike a spoiler); a device that provides aerodynamic braking.

   The BAe 146 and Fokker 100's tailcone-mounted airbrakes allow them to slow down quickly for steep approaches without experiencing the lift degradation seen with spoiler-only aircraft.