Meaning & use
aerial view
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Meanings
nouncountable
a picture or sight of a place seen from high up, especially from a plane or drone
Grammar: Countable; use 'an aerial view' or 'aerial views'. Often followed by 'of' plus a place.
Patterns
- an aerial view of something
- from an aerial view
- give/provide an aerial view
The website shows an aerial view of the whole campus.
From the plane we got a stunning aerial view of the islands.
The report includes aerial views of the flooded fields.
nounsingularfigurative
a way of thinking about a situation from a distant, general position rather than close details
Grammar: Used figuratively, usually in the phrase 'an aerial view of something'.
Patterns
- an aerial view of something
- take an aerial view
The chapter takes an aerial view of the whole industry.
To plan the budget, we need an aerial view of all our spending.
Word forms
| plural | aerial views |
|---|
Common combinations
- aerial view of the city
- The poster shows an aerial view of the city at night.
- stunning aerial view
- The drone gave us a stunning aerial view of the coast.
- aerial view of the site
- Archaeologists used an aerial view of the site to map the walls.
- get an aerial view
- Climb the tower if you want to get an aerial view.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bird's-eye view
- Very close in meaning, but often suggests looking almost straight down; 'aerial view' can be from an angle.
- overhead view
- Similar, but usually refers to something directly above, like a camera on the ceiling.
Commonly confused: aerial view or aerial?
aerial view vs aerial
'Aerial' is the adjective or the antenna itself: an aerial photo, a TV aerial. 'Aerial view' is the noun phrase for what you see.
Practice
The travel blog posted an aerial view ___ the harbor.
Choose one answer.
'Aerial view of something' is the standard pattern; 'for', 'at', and 'on' do not fit this fixed phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aerial view”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.