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hovercraft

/ˌhʌvərˈkræft/
/ˈhʌvəkrɑft/
IPA guide

Other forms: hovercrafts

A vehicle that hovers while traveling over land and water is called a hovercraft. Do you need to deliver a batch of cookies to the far side of the lake and down a dirt road? Better take the hovercraft!

Although it's not always obvious when you watch a hovercraft move, it does actually hover above the ground or water surface while it's moving. Hovercrafts use air pressure and currents to glide freely over difficult terrain, including mud and ice. As it rides on a "cushion of air," a hovercraft is also known as an "air-cushion vehicle" or "ACV." It takes an actual aircraft pilot to operate one.

Definitions of hovercraft
  1. noun
    a craft capable of moving over water or land on a cushion of air created by jet engines
    see moresee less
    type of:
    craft
    a vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space
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