jet

JET/ˈd͡ʒɛt/

Pluraljets

Verbjets, jetting, jetted

20 meanings of jet

Practice

1
airplanenouncountable
An aircraft propelled by jet engines rather than by propellers.
The airline retired its oldest jets last spring.
A private jet carried the delegation to the summit.
UsageCommon in a private jet, a jumbo jet, and by jet.
Similarplane, aircraft
Note
Aviation names the whole aircraft after its propulsion, so the word covers everything from airliners to stealth fighters. Keep it apart from the engine itself: a twin-engined jet has two jets only in the engineer's sense.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The aircraft is named for its jet propulsion. en.wikipedia.org
Jet can also mean an engine, so a twin-engined aircraft has two jets in that sense. en.wiktionary.org
2
pressure streamnouncountable
A narrow, focused stream or spurt of liquid or gas forced out of a pressurized container, engine, or nozzle.
A jet of flame burst from the burner when she turned the gas up.
The fountain sent jets of water high into the air.
UsageUsually a jet of something: a jet of water, a jet of steam.
Similarstream, spurt, squirt, spray
3
type of planeadjective
Propelled by jet engines, which drive the craft forward by expelling a fast stream of gas, rather than by propellers.
Military jet fighters can climb far faster than older propeller models.
The airline retired its last propeller plane and switched entirely to jet airliners.
UsageGoes before a noun: jet aircraft, jet fighter, jet airliner.
4
engine (any vehicle)nouncountable
An engine that propels a vehicle forward by means of a stream of fluid, either gas or liquid.
Mechanics pulled the left jet off the wing for a full inspection.
Instead of propellers, the new ferry is driven by a pair of water jets that let it run in shallow channels.
UsageOften jet engine, the clearer phrase for the engine itself.
Note
The engine takes its name from what it throws out: the stream of fluid it forces out to drive the vehicle. The word also names the aircraft it powers, so context does the sorting: mechanics pulling “the left jet” off a wing mean an engine, while a passenger who flew by jet means the plane.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The engine is named for the fluid jet it expels to produce thrust. en.wikipedia.org
5
flyverbintransitive
To travel by jet aircraft, or more loosely by any form of jet propulsion.
Executives jet between continents for brief meetings.
The band jetted off to Tokyo right after the concert.
UsageUsually with a direction: jet off to Tokyo, jet between continents.
Similarfly
6
raven blackadjective
Having a deep, glossy, very dark black color.
She tucked a strand of jet hair behind her ear and kept reading.
His jet hair was streaked with the first signs of gray.
UsageEveryday English more often says jet-black: jet-black hair.
Similarjet-black
Note
The color comes from the black stone, and unlike many color words it can be graded. Franklin Beech's The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics (1901) speaks of turning a bluish black ‘to a jetter shade’. Before a noun, jet can also mean made of the stone, so Raymond Chandler's ‘large jet buttons’ could be read either way.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The color sense derives from the black material jet. en.wikipedia.org
Franklin Beech wrote The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics, first published in 1901. gutenberg.org
Beech uses the comparative jetter when describing changing a bluish black. gutenberg.org
The phrase large jet buttons occurs in Raymond Chandler's writing, in the narration of The Big Sleep. cdn.penguin.co.uk
7
nozzle (opening)nouncountable
A nozzle or small opening through which liquid or gas is directed in a narrow stream, including one that meters fuel in a carburetor.
The plumber cleaned the clogged jet on the boiler.
Each burner has a small jet that controls the size of the flame.
UsageOften after what flows through it: a gas jet, a water jet.
Similarnozzle
Note
Once the word moves from the flow to the fitting, it behaves like any small part. A jet can clog, be cleaned, or be swapped for another, and on a burner or boiler it is often the piece that decides how big the flame or spray will be.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
A jet can become clogged and can be cleaned. trangia.se
A jet can be replaced with another. sanihub.info
A burner jet's size controls gas flow and consequently affects the flame. en.wikipedia.org
8
spurt outverbintransitive
To spurt or shoot out in a forceful stream, as from a nozzle or under pressure.
If you puncture an aerosol can, the contents can jet out with surprising force.
Water jetted out the moment he loosened the cap.
UsageUsually jet out or jet from something.
Similarspurt, squirt, gush, spray, shoot
9
hose downverbtransitive
To cover or spray something with liquid forced from a container.
The crew jet the tank walls to remove the residue.
Before lining the old pipes, the contractor jetted them to blast out years of grease.
UsageThe object is the thing sprayed, not the liquid: jet the drain, jet the pipes.
Similarspray, hose
Note
Water jets out of a hose, but a farmer jets sheep with chemicals, where jetting stands beside dipping as a way of treating livestock.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Jetting sheep with a chemical solution is a livestock treatment available alongside dipping. kb.rspca.org.au

Less common meanings

10
leaveverbslangintransitive
To leave a place, especially suddenly or in a hurry.
We should jet before it starts raining.
He jetted out the door without saying goodbye.
UsageCommon in gotta jet and I have to jet.
Similarleave, split, bolt, bounce
11
black tonenouncountable or uncountable
A deep, glossy black, the color of the polished mineral jet.
The designer paired cream walls with accents of jet.
Her gown was dyed a rich jet that caught the candlelight.
Similarebony, black
12
black coalnouncountable or uncountable
A hard, black variety of coal that takes a high polish and is sometimes used in jewelry.
The necklace was strung with smooth beads of black jet.
Whitby has long been famous for its jet, carved into rings and pendants.
Note
A different word from the jet of streams and aircraft, which only happens to share its spelling. This one is named for a place. It comes from Middle English get, through Old French jaiet and Latin gagātēs, from Greek Gagátēs, after Gagas, a town and river in Lycia. Its worth as ornament invited fakes: John Barrow's Dictionarium Polygraphicum (1735) mentions a ‘factitious jeat’ made of glass.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts
The gemstone word has a different origin from jet referring to streams and aircraft. en.wiktionary.org
The gemstone word passed through Middle English get, Old French jaiet, Latin gagātēs, and Greek Gagátēs. en.wiktionary.org
The name ultimately derives from Gagas, a town and river in Lycia. en.wiktionary.org
Gagas was the name of a town and river in Lycia. en.wiktionary.org
Jet's popularity as ornament led to glass substitutes. en.wikipedia.org
John Barrow wrote Dictionarium Polygraphicum, published in 1735. archive.org
1735 is the first-edition year. s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
Barrow's work mentions a glass imitation using the exact words 'factitious jeat'. en.wiktionary.org
13
rush aroundverbintransitive
To move rapidly from place to place, whether running, walking, or otherwise.
Waiters jet between the tables during the dinner rush.
He jetted around town running errands all afternoon.
UsageUsually with a direction: jet around town, jet between the tables.
Similardash, dart, rush, zip, race
14
set fuel mixverbtransitive
To adjust the fuel-to-air ratio of a carburetor, or to fit and tune its fuel jet.
Riders often jet their carburetors when they switch to a different fuel.
He had to jet the carburetor again after the engine kept running too rich.
Note
A mechanic's verb made from the carburetor part: to jet a carburetor is to fit or change its jets until the mixture is right. It is tuning talk and often comes with an adjective of result. Bill Fisher's How to Hotrod Volkswagen Engines (1970) describes jetting a carburetor ‘excessively rich’ to fix the top end, at the cost of richening the whole RPM range.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The mechanical verb relates to installing or adjusting the carburetor part called a jet. en.wiktionary.org
Bill Fisher wrote How to Hotrod Volkswagen Engines. omls.oregon.gov
Fisher describes jetting excessively rich to correct the top-end mixture while richening the whole RPM range. archive.org
15
noundated
The general drift, scope, or range of something, such as an argument.
Similardrift, gist, thrust, tenor
Note
A figurative use, now dated: the jet of an argument is the direction it is thrown in, the point it is driving at. A reader will meet it in older prose. A modern writer is better served by drift, scope or gist. Gist comes from a closely related Latin verb, iacēre, ‘to lie’.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The jet of an argument means its drift, scope or point. en.wiktionary.org
This sense occurs in older prose. gutenberg.org
Gist comes through Old French from Latin iacēre, 'to lie', rather than iacere, 'to throw'. The two Latin verbs are related. en.wiktionary.org
16
extra metalnoundatedcountable
The sprue of a piece of type, broken away once the cast metal has cooled.
After the mold cooled, the founder broke the jet from every piece of type.
Each fresh casting carried a jet of surplus metal that had to be removed by hand.
Similarsprue
Note
Molten metal reached the mold through a channel, and the surplus that set in that channel stayed attached to the new type as a stub. Once the type had cooled, the stub was snapped off. Sprue is the general foundry term; jet is the printing trade's own name for it, and a dated one.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Molten metal entered the mold through an opening. gutenberg.org
Surplus metal solidified in that opening and remained attached to the type. gutenberg.org
The attached metal was broken off after the type had cooled. en.wiktionary.org
Sprue is the general casting term for the surplus metal solidified in the entry passage. en.wikipedia.org
Jet is the printing trade's term for this sprue. en.wiktionary.org
17
noun
A narrow cone of hadrons and other particles formed when a quark or gluon turns into a shower of matter.
18
noun
An operation that takes a differentiable function and returns its Taylor polynomial (the truncated Taylor series) at each point of its domain.
19
verbobsolete
To strut; to walk with a proud or haughty bearing; to behave insolently.
Why, lords, and think you not how dangerous It is to jet upon a prince’s right?
c. 1588, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”
20
verbobsolete
To jerk or jolt; to be shaken back and forth.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of jet apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5, 7–10, 13–16

Latin iacere ("to throw") gave iactus ("a throw"), which became Vulgar Latin *iectus, Old French get or giet, and French jet ("spurt," literally "a throw"), the source of the English word. Spanish echar is a cognate.

Meanings 6, 11–12

The name comes from Gágas (Γάγας), a river and town in Lycia. From it came Ancient Greek Gagátēs (Γαγάτης) and Latin gagātēs, which reached Middle English as get or geet through Old French jayet in a northern form. Gagate is a doublet.