Standard Lemma guide

biplane

adj · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈbaɪpleɪn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪn
  • CMU ARPABET: B AY1 P L EY2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Composed of, or relating to, two planes (flat surfaces extending infinitely in all directions).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • biplane angiography

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: biplanar

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Having, or consisting of, two superposed planes, aerocurves, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: aeronautics, aerospace, aviation, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

Examples

  • a biplane rudder

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An airplane that has two main wings, one above the other and supported by struts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: aeronautics, aerospace, aviation, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To fly in a biplane.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

old fashioned airplane; has two wings one above the other

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: airplane, aeroplane, plane

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Italic *dwi- Latin bi-bor. English bi- English plane English biplane From bi- + plane.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Cantonese: 雙翼機 /双翼机 (soeng1 jik6 gei1) — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雙翼機 /双翼机 (shuāngyìjī) — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Czech: dvouplošník — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Czech: biplán — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Dutch: dubbeldekker — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Estonian: biplaan — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Finnish: kaksitaso — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • French: biplan — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Galician: biplano — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • German: Doppeldecker — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Hungarian: biplán — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Ido: biplano — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Japanese: 複葉機 (fukuyōki) — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Korean: 복엽기 (bogyeopgi) — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Polish: dwupłatowiec — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Polish: dwupłat — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Russian: бипла́н (biplán) — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Spanish: biplano — airplane that has two pairs of wings
  • Swedish: biplan — airplane that has two pairs of wings
Real reading context

biplane in complete knowledge articles