parachute

Everyday

1. A parachute is a large piece of cloth fixed to a person or thing by strings, which opens in the air and makes them fall slowly and safely. tree →
2. (verb) To parachute is to jump from a plane and come down with a parachute. tree →

In the lessons

Used in science lessons about forces: air resistance (drag) pushes up on the parachute and slows the fall; a bigger parachute falls more slowly. Classroom experiments drop paper parachutes. In PE a big coloured play parachute is used for games.

Examples

• The parachute opened and she floated down. tree →
• A parachute slows you down because of air resistance. tree →
• We made parachutes from plastic bags and string. tree →
• The bigger parachute took longer to fall. tree →
• Soldiers parachuted from the plane. tree →
• In PE we played games with a giant rainbow parachute. tree →
• Food was dropped by parachute to the village. tree →
• The rabbit was quite excited because he knew that he was to be taken up, and let down again in a parachute. tree →

Note

Countable: a parachute. Pronounced "PARA-shoot". Science point: gravity still pulls; the parachute does not stop gravity, it only adds air resistance.