Airship vs. Airplane

A lighter-than-air aircraft that can be propelled forward through the air as well as steered.

Example: ‘Airships are posited to be cheaper to operate over time than fixed-wing aircraft, but as there are no large fleets, this is hard to prove in practice.’;

(informal) Any aircraft.

Example: ‘On weekends, I liked to spend my time at the airport watching the various airships take off and land.’;

To transport goods by aircraft.

a steerable self-propelled light-than-air aircraft.

a steerable self-propelled airship

An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.

(US) A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings.

a heavier-than-air aircraft. Same as aeroplane{2}.

an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets;

Example: ‘the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane’;

a powered flying vehicle with fixed wings and a weight greater than that of the air it displaces; an aeroplane.

An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations.