airlift
/ˈɛə.lɪft/noun, verb
airlift is spelled A-I-R-L-I-F-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, airlift means “The transportation of troops, civilians or supplies by air, especially in an emergency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of airlift is airlifts.
How many letters and syllables are in airlift?
| Letters | 7: A-I-R-L-I-F-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is airlift?
Airlift appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce airlift?
- UK /ˈɛə.lɪft/
Airlift has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-airlift.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of airlift
- airlifts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- airlifting participle, present
- airlifted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does airlift mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The transportation of troops, civilians or supplies by air, especially in an emergency.
- 2
Such a flight.
- 3
A pipe that is used to suck up objects from the sea bed.
verb
- 1
To transport (supplies, troops, etc) in an airlift.
The mountaineer who fell down a crevasse had to be airlifted out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Airlift in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pont aérien |
| German | Luftbrücke , Luftbrückenflug |
| Spanish | puente aéreo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does airlift come from?
From air + lift; compare sealift.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).