Other forms: wingspans
The wingspan is the distance from one wingtip to the other. A three-metre wingspan, measure the wingspan, the wingspan of an albatross.
It decides how much lift a bird or an aircraft gets and how efficiently it flies, which is why gliders and albatrosses both have long thin wings. Airports limit it, and the folding wingtips on some airliners exist to fit a gate.
1nounwingspanThe distance from one wingtip to the other.
“The albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird.”
wingspan is a measurement.
Wing plus span. Span comes from Old English spann, the distance between an outstretched thumb and little finger.
From wing + span.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA