What does aquaplane mean?
Aquaplane most commonly means that a vehicle has lost its grip on a wet road and begun to glide or skid over a film of water. The resulting loss of control is particularly hazardous because the driver may experience little immediate feedback from the road, and braking or steering can become ineffective. The term can also describe a streamlined motorboat or other craft designed to skim across the water, although this older sense is now uncommon. In road-safety discussions, the gerund “aquaplaning” is often more frequent than the verb itself, and related phrases refer to the risk of aquaplaning and to aquaplaning accidents. Aquaplane is chiefly associated with British usage, although it is understood in American English, where “hydroplane” is also widely used for the loss-of-traction phenomenon. The word is useful because it identifies a distinctive and potentially dangerous form of skidding that ordinary terms such as “slide” do not fully convey.
To lose grip on a wet road surface and glide or slide over a layer of water, usually causing loss of control.
"Several cars aquaplaned when the storm flooded the highway."
Commonly used in British English and in road-safety reporting; the gerund “aquaplaning” is very common.
To ride a motorboat or similar craft over water so that it skims across the surface.
"They aquaplaned across the calm bay at high speed."
This older and less frequent use survives chiefly in descriptions of planing craft.
A motorboat or other watercraft designed to skim over the surface of water.
"The sleek aquaplane drew a crowd as it crossed the lake."
The noun is countable and has the regular plural “aquaplanes.”
"Two historic aquaplanes are displayed at the maritime museum."
Aquaplaning turns a thin, nearly invisible film of water into a roadway with no grip.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does aquaplane come from?
Aquaplane is an English compound formed from “aqua,” meaning water, and “plane,” referring to gliding or to a craft that skims over a surface. Its older watercraft sense developed before the verb came to describe a road vehicle gliding over water on a flooded or very wet surface. The “aqua-” element comes from Latin aqua, “water,” and is also present in words such as aquatic, aqueous, aquarium, and aquifer.
Related word forms
How aquaplane is actually used
The gerund “aquaplaning” is especially common in road-safety and accident reporting. The noun is now relatively uncommon, while the verb is used both for an uncontrolled vehicle and, more rarely, for riding a planing craft.
Easily confused with aquaplane
Aquaplane usually means that a road vehicle has lost traction and is gliding on water, whereas hydroplane may refer to a watercraft or to the similar loss of traction.