Meanings
plural splashdowns
- countableuncountableThe act of landing in water, as by a space capsule or rollercoaster.
He [John Wolfram] was the fastest swimmer in the group and knew he would be the first at splashdown.
2020, John Rocco, How We Got to the Moon, page 2351 more example
To get back to Earth, the space capsule had to withstand predicted temperatures of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit and slow down from nearly 25,000 miles per hour — or more than 30 times the speed of sound — to a gentle 19 mph or so before splashdown.
2026 April 10, Amina Khan, “WATCH LIVE: Artemis II astronauts have splashed down on Earth”, in National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.: National Public Radio
Origin
Deverbal from splash down.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan amaratge
- amaratgelanding in water
Finnish laskeutuminen veteen
- laskeutuminen veteenlanding in water
German Wasserung
- Wasserunglanding in water
Hindi जलावतरण
- जलावतरण (jalāvatraṇ)landing in water
Italian ammaraggio
- ammaraggiolanding in water
Polish wodowanie
- wodowanielanding in water
Portuguese amaragem, amerissagem
- amaragemlanding in water
- amerissagemlanding in water
- aquaplanagemlanding in water
Russian приводне́ние
- приводне́ние (privodnénije)landing in water
Spanish amarizaje
- amarizajelanding in water
Turkish suya iniş
- suya inişlanding in water
Cite this entry
splashdown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splashdown
“splashdown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splashdown. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “splashdown,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splashdown.
Source: splashdown on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.