slipstream

[ slip-streem ]

nounAlso slip stream .
  1. Aeronautics. the airstream pushed back by a revolving aircraft propeller.: Compare backwash (def. 2), wash (def. 31).

  2. the airstream generating reduced air pressure and forward suction directly behind a rapidly moving vehicle.

verb (used without object)
  1. to ride in the slipstream of a fast-moving vehicle.

Origin of slipstream

1
First recorded in 1910–15; slip1 + stream

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for slipstream

slipstream

/ (ˈslɪpˌstriːm) /


noun
  1. Also called: airstream, race

    • the stream of air forced backwards by an aircraft propeller

    • a stream of air behind any moving object

verb
  1. motor racing to follow (another car, etc) closely in order to take advantage of the decreased wind resistance immediately behind it

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