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contrail Definition

con·trail (käntrāl′)

noun

a white trail of condensed water vapor that sometimes forms in the wake of an aircraft; vapor trail

Etymology: con(densation) + trail

contrail Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • leave: He looked out the window momentarily and saw a 737 leaving a contrail at 33,000 feet in the serene blue sky.
  • spot: Along the way, Claiborne said, he spotted the contrails of a jet streaking toward the car.
  • see: It is now almost impossible to look up and not see the contrail of one, or three.

Preposition: in

  • sky: Visibility was very good with some cirrus and contrails in the sky.

Adjective modifier

  • normal: Unlike normal contrails behind commercial jets which dissipate quickly, these lingered for hours, came together and obscured the sky.
  • several: Several contrails had drifted across the sky, unusual for here, more like the vicinity of Manchester Airport.

Modifies a noun

  • formation: Several possible aviation demand growth scenarios as well as various policy options to minimize contrail formation will be examined.
  • stock: Then when these had been held down with small pieces of masking tape, I cut the struts from Contrail stock.
  • rod: A short length of Contrail rod was used to attach them to the fuselage.

Noun used with modifier

  • aircraft: Note the aircraft contrail at the top of the picture which has also taken on the color of the sunrise.
  • jet: For example, features such as clouds and jet contrails may appear on one image and not on the other.