flight-test

verb

ˈflīt-ˌtest How to pronounce flight-test (audio)
flight-tested; flight-testing; flight-tests

transitive verb

: to test (an airplane, a spacecraft, etc.) in flight

Examples of flight-test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While the booster was lost, SpaceX has repeatedly emphasized that Starship’s flight-test campaign follows an iterative development strategy in which every mission is intended to gather engineering data rather than achieve operational perfection. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026 Edwards is the Air Force's premier flight-test center, and B-52s stationed there are frequently used for developmental and modernization testing rather than routine operational missions. — Sophia Compton , Morgan Phillips, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026 For that final certificate, Vertical plans to build seven preproduction Valo aircraft, a new model similar to the VX4 but modified based on three years of flight-test data. — Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026 According to Pentagon data, the Tomahawk has been flight-tested more than 550 times and used operationally in over 2,300 strikes, according to Raytheon, the defense manufacturer. — CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for flight-test

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flight-test was in 1930

Rhymes for flight-test

See All Rhymes for flight-test

Browse Nearby Words

flight surgeon
flight-test
flighty
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flight-test.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flight-test. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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