hydroplane

Meanings

Verb

• To skim the surface of a body of water while moving at high speed.
• For a car or similar vehicle to slide along the road on a thin film of water between the road and the tyres. This occurs when a car has some speed and comes to somewhere with more water on the road than the weight of the car and the grooves in the tyre tread pattern (if any) can push away. The result is almost no traction at all for steering or braking.

Noun

• A specific type of motorboat used exclusively for racing.
• A seaplane; any aircraft capable of taking off from, and alighting on the surface of water.
• A hydrofoil
• The wing of a submarine, used to help control depth

Origin

• hydro- + plane