Dictionary

unidentified flying object en · NOUN

Pronunciation

(Southern-England) audio

Etymology

The phrase is usually attributed to US Air Force officer Edward J. Ruppelt (1923–1960) who coined it as a replacement of the terms flying saucer and flying disk.

Meanings

Anything not readily explainable appearing to move through or be suspended in the air.
- The lights seen over the city last night, originally termed unidentified flying objects, turned out to be spotlights from a car dealership reflecting on low clouds.
- The U.S. Air Force says, people have been reporting unidentified flying objects since around 1700—and probably a long time before that. 1950 May 10, The Cairns Post, Qld, page 9, column 5:
(qualifier:especially and originally) Anything not readily explainable appearing to move through or be suspended in the air. ▸ Such things as seem to be discrete objects and comparable to aircraft.
- The U.S. and Canada are investigating three unidentified flying objects shot down over North America in the past three days. Militaries have adjusted radars to try to spot more incursions. 2023 February 12, Julian E. Barnes, Helene Cooper, Edward Wong, “What’s Going On Up There? Theories but No Answers in Shootdowns of Mystery Craft.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- A spokesman said this about a revival of reports of unidentified flying objects, popularly known as flying saucers. 1952 April 4, The Daily News, Perth, WA, page 8, column 2:
- She said that the unidentified flying object then turned around, zoomed to a higher altitude, and loitered briefly before speeding off.
(colloquial) An alien spacecraft.
- He said that the strange beings then took him aboard their unidentified flying object and examined his body.

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
unidentified flying objects	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Translations (94)

sv oidentifierat flygande föremål (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fi tunnistamaton lentävä esine (anything in the air not readily explainable) · kk беймәлім ұшқыш нысан (anything in the air not readily explainable) · az NUO (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · az naməlum uçan obyekt (anything in the air not readily explainable) · kw taklen-neyja anaswonys (anything in the air not readily explainable) · be неапазна́ны лята́ючы аб'е́кт (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pt objeto voador não identificado (anything in the air not readily explainable) · sv UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · es ovni (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ja ＵＦＯ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ru лета́ющая таре́лка (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · az uçan naməlum obyekt (anything in the air not readily explainable) · cmn 幽浮 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · tr uçan daire (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fr ovni (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ar صَحْن طَائِر (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fi ufo (anything in the air not readily explainable) · de unidentifiziertes Flugobjekt (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pt óvni (anything in the air not readily explainable) · de UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · eo NIFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · no ufo (anything in the air not readily explainable) · is FFH (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ast oxetu esnalador non identificáu (anything in the air not readily explainable) · mn ҮТНБ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · cs UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · tr UFO (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · vi vật thể bay chưa xác định (anything in the air not readily explainable) · hy չբացահայտված թռչող օբյեկտ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ca OVNI (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ja 宇宙船 (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · no UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · sv oidentifierat flygande objekt (anything in the air not readily explainable) · it oggetto volante non identificato (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ko 미확인비행물체 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · hi उड़न तश्तरी (anything in the air not readily explainable) · eo ne-identifita flug-objekto (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pon iuepoh (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · ru НЛО (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fi ufo (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · ja ＵＦＯ (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · km វត្ថុហោះហើរមិនស្គាល់អត្តសញ្ញាណ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ca ovni (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pon iuepoh (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fr OVNI (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pl niezidentyfikowany obiekt latający (anything in the air not readily explainable) · bg неидентифици́ран летя́щ обе́кт (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · si හඳුනා නොගත් පියාඹන වස්තූන් (anything in the air not readily explainable) · bg неидентифици́ран летя́щ обе́кт (anything in the air not readily explainable) · cmn 飛碟 /飞碟 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · uk непі́знаний літа́ючий об'є́кт (anything in the air not readily explainable) · it ovni (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ro obiect zburător neidentificat (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ka ამოუცნობი მფრინავი ობიექტი (anything in the air not readily explainable) · eu objektu hegalari ezezagun (anything in the air not readily explainable) · te గుర్తించబడని ఎగురుతున్న వస్తువు (anything in the air not readily explainable) · sv ufo (anything in the air not readily explainable) · vi vật thể bay không xác định (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ru НЛО (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · tr uçan daire (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · chr ᎪᏟᏍᏗ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ ᎦᏃᎯᎵᏙᎯ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ta அடையாளம் கண்டுபிடிக்க முடியாத பறக்கும் பொருள் (anything in the air not readily explainable) · it UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · es objeto volador no identificado (anything in the air not readily explainable) · is fljúgandi furðuhlutur (anything in the air not readily explainable) · mn үл танигдах нисдэг биет (anything in the air not readily explainable) · mk НЛО (anything in the air not readily explainable) · es OVNI (anything in the air not readily explainable) · mk неидентификуван летечки објект (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ja 未確認飛行物体 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · nl UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · pt OVNI (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ru неопо́знанный лета́ющий объе́кт (anything in the air not readily explainable) · el άγνωστης ταυτότητας ιπτάμενο αντικείμενο (anything in the air not readily explainable) · el ΑΤΙΑ (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · it ufo (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ta பறக்கும்தட்டு (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · el ΑΤΙΑ (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fi UFO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · nl ufo (anything in the air not readily explainable) · no uidentifisert flygende objekt (anything in the air not readily explainable) · it OVNI (anything in the air not readily explainable) · cmn 飛碟 /飞碟 (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · ca objecte volador no identificat (anything in the air not readily explainable) · kn ಅಪರಿಚಿತ ಹಾರಾಡುವ ವಸ್ತು (anything in the air not readily explainable) · az NUO (anything in the air not readily explainable) · az naməlum uçan obyekt (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · cs neidentifikovatelný létající předmět (anything in the air not readily explainable) · fr objet volant non-identifié (anything in the air not readily explainable) · cmn 不明飛行物 /不明飞行物 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · yue 不明飛行物體 /不明飞行物体 (anything in the air not readily explainable) · ja 空飛ぶ円盤 (colloquial: an alien spacecraft) · hu azonosítatlan repülő tárgy (anything in the air not readily explainable)

wikidata: Q421 · wikipedia: Edward J. Ruppelt · wikidata: Q421

unidentified flying object en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Coordinates

Hypernyms

Synonyms

Translations (94)