antiaircraft

Anything described as antiaircraft defends a position on the ground from an air force. An antiaircraft gun shoots at attacking planes.

This is a military term with a very specific meaning. Like all anti words, this is in opposition to something: in this case, fighter planes and other attacks from above. All antiaircraft devices and strategies involve protecting forces on the ground from forces in the sky. Since planes have tremendous advantages in dropping bombs and firing at the ground, antiaircraft forces are important.

Definitions of antiaircraft

1. adjective

   designed for defense from a surface position against air attack
   synonyms:

   defensive

   intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack
2. noun

   artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes
   synonyms: ack-ack, ack-ack gun, antiaircraft gun, flack, flak, pom-pom

   types:

   Bofors gun

   an automatic double-barreled antiaircraft gun

   type of:

   gun

   a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)