VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

airport

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈeəpɔːt/
US/ˈerpɔːrt/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A place with runways and buildings where planes land, take off, and people get on or off.

    Grammar: A normal countable noun: one airport, two airports, the airport.

    Patterns

    • at the airport
    • fly from an airport
    • an international airport

    We should get to the airport two hours before the flight.

    Her brother works as a security guard at the airport.

    The airport was closed because of heavy snow.

  2. nounbefore a noun

    Used before another noun to describe things connected with this place.

    Grammar: Used like an adjective directly before a noun: airport bus, airport hotel.

    Patterns

    • airport terminal
    • airport hotel
    • airport security

    A free airport bus runs every ten minutes.

    They stayed at an airport hotel because their flight left at dawn.

    Airport security checks all hand luggage.

Word forms

pluralairports

Common combinations

international airport
Heathrow is one of the world's busiest international airports.
arrive at the airport
We arrived at the airport just as the gate was closing.
airport terminal
The new airport terminal can handle forty million passengers a year.
airport shuttle
Take the airport shuttle to the city center.
be stuck at the airport
We were stuck at the airport for six hours because of fog.

Synonyms and how they differ

airfield
An airfield is a simpler place for planes, often small and without large passenger buildings.
aerodrome
Aerodrome is an older British word for a small airport, rarely used in everyday American English.
terminal
A terminal is only the building where passengers check in, not the whole airport with its runways.

Word family

air noun
the mixture of gases we breathe, and travel by plane.
airline noun
a company that owns planes and carries passengers.
aircraft noun
any machine that flies, such as a plane or helicopter.
airfare noun
the money you pay for a plane ticket.

Commonly confused: airport or seaport? airport or station?

airport vs seaport

A seaport is a place where ships load and unload; an airport is for planes.

airport vs station

A station is where trains or buses stop; planes use an airport.

Practice

Choose the best sentence.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “airport”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words