hydroplane

English

WOTD – 5 June 2006

Two vehicles hydroplaning (#2 - verb)

Miss Madison unlimited hydroplane in 2007 (#1 - noun)

A Grumman G-111 Albatross seaplane (#2 - noun)

A hydrofoil in the Netherlands (#3 - noun)

Etymology

hydro- +‎ plane

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪdɹəʊˌpleɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪdɹoʊˌpleɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

hydroplane (third-person singular simple present hydroplanes, present participle hydroplaning, simple past and past participle hydroplaned) (intransitive)

1. To skim the surface of a body of water while moving at high speed.
2. (automotive, UK) For a car or similar vehicle to slide along the road on a thin film of water between the road and the tyres. This occurs when a car has some speed and comes to somewhere with more water on the road than the weight of the car and the grooves in the tyre tread pattern (if any) can push away. The result is almost no traction at all for steering or braking.

   Synonym: (UK) aquaplane

   Don't drive too fast on wet roads or the car may hydroplane and cause you to lose control of the vehicle.

Translations

to skim the surface of water while moving at high speed

• Finnish: joutua vesiliirtoon (of a road vehicle); plaanata (fi), liukua (fi) (of a boat)

aquaplane — see aquaplane

Noun

hydroplane (plural hydroplanes)

1. (nautical) A specific type of motorboat used exclusively for racing.
2. (aircraft, nautical) A seaplane; any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.
3. (nautical) A hydrofoil (“boat type”)
4. (nautical) A hydrofoil (“hydrodynamic surface”)
5. (nautical) The wing of a submarine, used to help control depth

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} idroaliante (it)

Further reading

• “hydroplane”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “hydroplane”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “hydroplane”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “hydroplane”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.