Definition

Noun: * A basic, often temporary, area of land prepared for the takeoff and landing of aircraft. It typically lacks the permanent buildings, control towers, and extensive paved runways of a standard airport. An airstrip is characterized by its simplicity and minimal infrastructure.

Usage

An "airstrip" is used to describe a rudimentary aviation facility. It is commonly found in remote, rural, or military contexts where full airport services are unnecessary or impractical. The term emphasizes the absence of normal airport amenities.

Examples

• The small medical plane landed on a grassy airstrip near the village.
• During the expedition, they cleared a section of the jungle to serve as a temporary airstrip.
• The old military airstrip is now overgrown and unused.

Advanced Usage

• "Emergency airstrip": A landing area prepared or designated for use in urgent situations.
  • The pilot was forced to use a farmer's field as an emergency airstrip.
• "To build/construct an airstrip": The act of creating such a basic landing area.
  • The aid organization built a short airstrip to deliver supplies.

Variants and Related Words

• Landing strip (noun): A synonym for airstrip, often used interchangeably, sometimes emphasizing the prepared surface for landing.
• Runway (noun): The specific, defined strip on an airstrip, airport, or airfield where aircraft take off and land. An airstrip may consist of a single runway.
• Airfield (noun): A broader term that can include airstrips but may also imply slightly more facilities. An airstrip is a type of basic airfield.
• Airstrip mining (noun - compound term): A surface mining technique where long, narrow strips of land are mined sequentially. (This is a distinct, specialized term unrelated to aviation).

Synonyms

• Landing strip
• Flight strip
• Landing field

Antonyms

• Airport
• Air terminal
• Aerodrome (though this can sometimes include basic fields, it often implies more structure)

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "To put down on a dirt airstrip": A phrase describing landing an aircraft on a particularly rudimentary, unpaved airstrip.
  • The bush pilot skillfully put the plane down on a dirt airstrip.

Noun

1. an airfield without normal airport facilities