phugoid
Syllables: phug·oid/ˈfjuːɡɔɪd//ˈfjuˌɡɔɪd/
phugoid adjective: of the motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object: continuously oscillating in a vertical plane due to the object pitching up and climbing, thus slowing down; then pitching down and descending, thus speeding up.
Adjective
phugoid (not comparable)
- Of the motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object: continuously oscillating in a vertical plane due to the object pitching up and climbing, thus slowing down; then pitching down and descending, thus speeding up.
- The Phugoid theory deals with the longitudinal stability, and the form and equations of the flight path of an aerodone.1908, F[rederick] W[illiam] Lanchester, “The Phugoid Theory—The Equations of the Flight Path”, in Aerodonetics: Constituting the Second Volume of a Complete Work on Aerial Flight […], London...
Noun
phugoid (plural phugoids)
- The motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object continuously oscillating in a vertical plane due to the object pitching up and climbing, thus slowing down; then pitching down and descending, thus speeding up.
- As the amplitude of the phugoid is increased beyond the limits of the semicircle, there is a rapid shortening of the time period as shown by the manner in which the time curve falls away almost immediately after that critical form of flight path is passed. […] [I]f we select phugoids of greater and...1908, F[rederick] W[illiam] Lanchester, “The Phugoid Theory—The Flight Path Plotted”, in Aerodonetics: Constituting the Second Volume of a Complete Work on Aerial Flight […], London: Archibald...
- As well as physical debris, the report drew on recent analysis by Australian defense scientists of burst frequency signals from Flight 370 to satellites that indicated the aircraft had been descending fast, likely in an automated series of swooping dives called fugoids.2016 November 2, Rob Taylor, “Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 likely in steep dive before crash”, in The Wall Street Journal, New York, N.Y.: Dow Jones & Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
phugoid meaning in Arabic
phugoid in Arabic
- motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object continuously oscillating in a vertical plane
- فوغويد fūgūyd
Forms of phugoid
| plural | phugoids |
|---|---|
| alternative form | fugoid |
Origin of phugoid
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek φῠγή (phŭgḗ, “fleeing, flight; escape; retreat”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg- (“to flee”)) + English -oid (“suffix meaning ‘having the likeness of, resembling’, forming adjectives and nouns”). The word was coined by the British aerodynamicist and engineer Frederick W. Lanchester (1868–1946) in his book Aerodonetics (1908), the author mistaking the meaning of φῠγή (phŭgḗ) to be “flight” in the sense of “the act of flying”: see the quotations. The noun is derived from the adjective.
Questions about phugoid
- What does phugoid mean?
- Phugoid means of the motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object: continuously oscillating in a vertical plane due to the object pitching up and climbing, thus slowing down; then pitching down and descending, thus speeding up.
- What is phugoid in Arabic?
- Phugoid in Arabic is فوغويد (fūgūyd). See Phugoid meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is phugoid?
- Phugoid can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce phugoid?
- Phugoid is pronounced /ˈfjuːɡɔɪd/ (UK).
Words near phugoid in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: phugoid (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-phugoid.wav, En-us-phugoid.oga.
Cite this entry: “phugoid.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phugoid. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.