parachute

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: chutejump

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. rescue equipment consisting of a device that fills with air and retards your fallSynonyms: chute

Verb (1)

  1. jump from an airplane and descend with a parachuteSynonyms: chutejump
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Parachute \Par"a*chute\ (p[a^]r"[.a]*sh[=oo]t or p[a^]r"[.a]*sh[udd]t), n. [F., fr. parer to ward off, guard + chute a fall. See Parry, and Chute, Chance.] [1913 Webster]

1.A device made of a piece of cloth, usually silk, attached to multiple chords fastened to a harness; when attached to a person or object falling through the air, it opens from a folded configuration into an umbrella-shaped form, thus slowing the rate of descent so that a safe descent and landing may be made through the air from an airplane, balloon, or other high point. It is commonly used for descending to the ground from a flying airplane, as for military operations (as of airborne troops) or in an emergency, or for sport. In the case of use as a sport, the descent from an airplane by parachute is called sky diving. Some older versions of parachute were more rigid, and were shaped somewhat in the form of an umbrella.

2.(Zool.) A web or fold of skin which extends between the legs of certain mammals, as the flying squirrels, colugo, and phalangister. [1913 Webster]

parachute \par"a*chute\, v. i. TO descend to th ground from an airplane or other high place using a parachute; as, when the plane stalled, he parachuted safely to the ground. [PJC]

golden parachute a generous set of financial benefits, including severance pay, provided by contract to a high-level corporate employee in the event s/he is dismissed or his/her job is lost in a corporate takeover or merger; also, the contract providing for such benefits.

drogue parachute a small parachute that is first released and opened in order to more reliably deploy a larger parachute. Also called drogue. [PJC] parachuter

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