slipstream

Plural: slipstreams

Noun

• the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller
• The low-pressure zone immediately following a rapidly moving object, caused by turbulence.
• A generated advantage which makes forward movement easier.
• The relative wind experienced as a result of movement through air.
• The airflow over a propeller-driven aircraft generated by the motion of its propeller(s).
• A genre of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries.

Verb

• To take advantage of the suction produced by a slipstream by travelling immediately behind the slipstream generator.
• To incorporate additional software (such as patches) into an existing installer.

Examples

• Although dangerous, over-the-road truck drivers sometimes slipstream with each other to save fuel.

Synonyms

airstream, backwash, race, wash, draft, prop wash