flight engineer

noun

: a flight crewman responsible for mechanical operation

Examples of flight engineer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Samokutyaev served as a flight engineer on the space station’s 27th and 28th expedition crews. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026 In the 1950s, there would have been a captain, a co-pilot, a flight engineer, a navigator, and a radio operator all in the cockpit. — Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026 The Millennium Falcon jumps into hyperspace destined for the planet chosen by the flight engineers. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 26 May 2026 Rush, a former test flight engineer for fighter jets, founded the company in 2009 after years of experience in aerospace and aviation. — Patrick Whittle, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for flight engineer

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flight engineer was in 1938

Rhymes for flight engineer

See All Rhymes for flight engineer

Browse Nearby Words

flight deck
flight engineer
flighter
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flight engineer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flight%20engineer. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

flight engineer

noun
: a crew member of an airplane responsible for mechanical operation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All