parachute

1.nounB2

Definition

a wide cloth dome with strong cords that attach below to a falling person or cargo; the dome catches the air, slowing the descent so a safe landing is possible after leaving an aircraft.

Example

Marcus pulled the cord and his parachute opened above the green fields below.

open a parachute

The pilot strapped on a parachute before climbing into the small training plane.

strap on a parachute

Common collocations

open the parachute
pack a parachute
by parachute
reserve parachute

Synonyms

chute
informal short form, common among skydivers
canopy
the cloth part of the parachute, not the whole device

Grammar Patterns

open / pack / pull a parachute

Usage Note

Often paired with verbs of preparation (pack, fold, strap on) or operation (open, deploy, pull). The phrase 'by parachute' acts as a means-of-delivery adverbial.

Common Mistakes

He jumped with the parachute from the plane.

He jumped from the plane with a parachute.

use indefinite 'a' for first mention; place 'from the plane' before 'with a parachute'.

1.verbintransitiveB2

Definition

to leave a flying aircraft and fall through the sky wearing a parachute, which then opens to slow your fall before you land.

Example

Marcus parachuted into a wheat field three miles from the runway.

parachute into [place]

The soldiers parachuted from the helicopter onto the rocky beach at dawn.

parachute from [aircraft] onto [place]

Common collocations

parachute into
parachute down
parachute from

Synonyms

skydive
longer free-fall before opening the parachute, usually as a sport
bail out
leave an aircraft in an emergency, often with a parachute

Grammar Patterns

parachute into / onto / from somewhere

Usage Note

Almost always followed by an adverb or preposition showing direction or destination (down, in, into, onto, from). Bare 'parachute' without a path phrase is rare.

Common Mistakes

She parachuted yesterday for the first time.

She did her first parachute jump yesterday.

the verb usually needs a direction phrase; without one, prefer the noun phrase.

2.verbtransitive

Definition

to send a person, supplies, or equipment down from an aircraft hanging beneath a parachute, so that they reach the ground safely.

Example

The army parachuted food and blankets into the village after the road was cut off.

parachute [thing] into [place]

Three medics were parachuted onto the island to treat the injured sailors.

passive: be parachuted onto

Common collocations

parachute supplies
be parachuted in
parachute aid

Synonyms

airdrop
more technical, used for any drop from an aircraft, with or without a parachute
drop
general; doesn't specify a parachute is used

Grammar Patterns

parachute somebody/something into somewhere

be parachuted in

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive ('was parachuted in'), because the focus is on the cargo or person delivered, not on the pilot doing the dropping.

Common Mistakes

The plane parachuted in the village.

The plane parachuted supplies into the village.

this transitive sense needs a direct object (what was dropped).

3.verbtransitive / intransitive

Definition

to arrive suddenly in a job, role, or problem you have not been part of before, usually to give short-term help; also, to send another person in like this.

Example

The board parachuted Carlos in as chief executive after the old one resigned.

parachute [person] in as [role]

A senior lawyer was parachuted into the team to handle the messy court case.

passive: be parachuted into [team]

Common collocations

parachute someone in
parachute into a role
be parachuted in

Synonyms

drop in
more casual, usually a brief visit rather than taking over a role
draft in
British, neutral; bring someone in for help without the outsider connotation

Antonyms

promote from within
opposite strategy: choose someone already in the team

Grammar Patterns

parachute into [a role / situation]

parachute somebody in

Usage Note

Often carries a slightly negative tone: the newcomer is seen as an outsider with no local knowledge. Distinguish from sense 1 (literal jumping) by the abstract destination — a job, team, or election rather than a place on the ground.

Common Mistakes

The company parachuted him to manage the office.

The company parachuted him in to manage the office.

the particle 'in' (or 'into [role]') is needed for the figurative meaning.

Word family

parachutist
nounC1
parachuting
nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words relate to falling or floating through the air, but they differ in scope and register. 'Parachute' is the standard, neutral term for the whole device — the canopy, the ropes, the harness, and the pack — used in writing, news, and everyday speech. 'Chute' is the same thing but informal, common among skydivers and pilots ('open your chute!'); avoid it in formal writing. 'Canopy' refers strictly to the wide cloth dome, not the harness or cords, so a sentence like 'the canopy filled with air' describes one part of the parachute. 'Glider' is a different aircraft entirely — fixed wings, no engine — and is steered through long flights, not a brief descent. So a soldier 'jumps with a parachute', a pilot may 'fly a glider', and only the cloth section is a 'canopy'.

parachute ↗chutecanopy ↗glider

Common collocations

Nouns

jump
cord
harness
drop
supplies
troops

Adverbs

Phrases

by parachute
open the parachute
reserve parachute
parachute jump

Prepositions

into
onto
from
out of

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

Coined in late 18th-century France from 'para-' (a borrowing from Italian 'parare', meaning to shield or protect against) plus French 'chute', meaning a fall. The literal idea is 'a thing that protects against a fall'. Early French inventors tested cloth canopies in the 1780s, soon after the first hot-air balloon flights, and the word entered English a few years later. The verb sense developed naturally from the noun in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the figurative 'parachute someone into a role' is a late-20th-century business and political metaphor.

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parachute

parachute — noun

1. a wide cloth dome with strong cords that attach below to a falling person or car

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

parachute — verb

1. to leave a flying aircraft and fall through the sky wearing a parachute, which t

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. to send a person, supplies, or equipment down from an aircraft hanging beneath a

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

3. to arrive suddenly in a job, role, or problem you have not been part of before,

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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