aerial - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Things that are aerial are happening in the air: birds, planes, and missiles are all aerial things.

When talking about things that are literally up in the air, you can use the word aerial. If a country sends planes to bomb another country, that's an aerial attack. In football, the passing game is called the aerial game. Anything light and airy can also be called aerial, and an aerial is a device that picks up radio or TV signals: it plucks them out of the air. So when you see the word aerial, just think "air."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: aerial

1	adj	characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
2	n	an electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals
3	n	a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: aerial

1

adj characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air

“aerial fancies”

Synonyms:: aeriform, aery, airy, ethereal

: insubstantial, unreal, unsubstantial
lacking material form or substance; unreal

adj existing or living or growing or operating in the air

“aerial roots of a philodendron”

“aerial particles”

“small aerial creatures such as butterflies”

“aerial warfare”

“aerial photography”

“aerial cable cars”

Synonyms: free-flying
able to fly through the air (as a bird)

2

n an electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals

Synonyms:: antenna, transmitting aerial

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; dipole, dipole antenna
an aerial half a wavelength long consisting of two rods connected to a transmission line at the center; directional antenna
an antenna that transmits or receives signals only in a narrow angle; nondirectional antenna, omnidirectional antenna
an antenna that sends or receives signals equally in all directions; array
an arrangement of aerials spaced to give desired directional characteristics; dish, dish aerial, dish antenna, saucer
directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation; radio aerial, radio antenna
omnidirectional antenna comprising the part of a radio receiver by means of which radio signals are received; television antenna, tv-antenna
an omnidirectional antenna tuned to the broadcast frequencies assigned to television; Yagi aerial, yagi
a sharply directional antenna

Type of:: electrical device
a device that produces or is powered by electricity

3

n a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer

Synonyms:: forward pass

Types:: flare, flare pass
a short forward pass to a back who is running toward the sidelines; screen pass
a short forward pass in which the receiver is protected by a screen of blockers

Type of:: pass, passing, passing game, passing play
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate