airfoil

IPA/ˈeəfɔɪl/
KK[ˈɛrfˌɔɪl]IPA/ˈerfɔɪl/

airfoil — noun

  • airfoilsingular
  • airfoilsplural

1. a specially shaped surface, such as that of an aircraft wing or a fan blade, bui

1.名詞C1
釋義

a specially shaped surface, such as that of an aircraft wing or a fan blade, built so that air moving across it pushes the object upward or helps keep it steady during flight

例句

Engineers tested the airfoil design in a wind tunnel before fitting it to the prototype.

collocation: airfoil design, tested in a wind tunnel

A helicopter blade uses the airfoil principle to generate lift, just like an aeroplane wing.

the airfoil principle

同義詞
  • aerofoil

    British spelling variant; identical meaning

  • wing

    more general; a wing is one type of airfoil but not all airfoils are wings (e.g. propeller blades are also airfoils)

  • foil

    shortened form used in compound terms like hydrofoil or foil-borne

用法筆記

In British English the preferred spelling is aerofoil. The shape works the same way whether used on an aircraft wing, a propeller blade, or a wind-turbine blade.

常見錯誤

❌The wing of a plane is a flat surface that pushes against the air.
✅The wing of a plane has a curved airfoil shape, which creates lift because air moves faster over the top than underneath.
💡A flat surface would not produce enough lift for flight.