Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A system of transporting troops, civilian passengers, or supplies by air, as in an emergency or when surface routes are blocked.
  • noun A flight transporting troops, civilian passengers, or supplies under such conditions.
  • intransitive verb To transport in an airlift.
  • intransitive verb To transport troops, civilian passengers, or supplies in an airlift.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The transportation of troops, civilians or supplies by air, especially in an emergency.
  • noun Such a flight.
  • noun archaeology A pipe that is used to suck up objects from the sea bed.
  • verb transitive To transport (troops etc) in an airlift.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fly people or goods to or from places not accessible by other means
  • noun transportation of people or goods by air (especially when other means of access are unavailable)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From air + lift.

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Examples

  • During the Berlin airlift, I was in Berlin as a summer student at the Siemens company, and I decided to go West via one of the empty airlift return flights.

    Herbert Kroemer - Autobiography 2001

  • Yet always, as with a Berlin airlift or a Greek-Turkish program, or a Marshall Plan, a way has been found to deal with the problem short of major war.

    Power and Responsibility 1952

  • Whereas Truman's Cold War policies — the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlift — were supported by his 1948 opponent, Thomas Dewey, and largely continued by his successor, Dwight Eisenhower, many of Bush's post-9/11 policies — including the prosecution of the war in Iraq and the conduct of relations with allies such as France and Germany — have been harshly attacked by Kerry.

    The Stakes in 2004 2004

  • Whereas Truman's Cold War policies — the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlift — were supported by his 1948 opponent, Thomas Dewey, and largely continued by his successor, Dwight Eisenhower, many of Bush's post-9/11 policies — including the prosecution of the war in Iraq and the conduct of relations with allies such as France and Germany — have been harshly attacked by Kerry.

    The Stakes in 2004 2004

  • Tempelhof, the airport made famous during the Berlin airlift and originally intended to function as the gateway to Hitler’s Third Reich capital, “Germania,” is slated to close today, the victim of Berlin’s airport consolidation.

    Calendar 2008

  • Tempelhof, the airport made famous during the Berlin airlift and originally intended to function as the gateway to Hitler’s Third Reich capital, “Germania,” is slated to close today, the victim of Berlin’s airport consolidation.

    Calendar 2008

  • And the airlift was the beginning of a better relationship, and finally, we developed a friendship with the Americans.

    Daring Young Men RICHARD REEVES 2010

  • One of the great problems of the airlift was the building of new runways—including a third one at Tempelhof used only for takeoffs—and strengthening the old ones.

    Daring Young Men RICHARD REEVES 2010

  • We should clearly recognize that the airlift is a temporary expedient.

    Daring Young Men RICHARD REEVES 2010

  • Everyone knows the reason for the airlift was the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain — particularly Berliners!

    Obama: Oh, what’s another lie… 2010

Comments

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  • "This weekend's flight was the largest penguin airlift in Brazilian history, but the largest penguin airlift ever took place in 2000, when 10,000 to 15,000 birds were transported to clean water after a massive oil spill near Cape Town, South Africa."

    - Nina Shen Rastogi, 'Flight of the Penguins: How do you airlift hundreds of stranded birds?' in slate.com, 6 Oct 2008.

    October 7, 2008

  • Neat story. Did you see the footage, bilby?

    October 7, 2008

  • No :-(

    October 8, 2008