Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

step climb

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.17 in modern English

Syllables: step -climb
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To periodically climb to higher and higher altitudes during cruise flight, as the aircraft becomes lighter from fuel burnoff, to take advantage of the reduced drag at higher altitudes; like cruise-climbing, but with the aircraft climbing in discrete steps instead of continuously.

Intransitive verb

noun

An instance of step climbing.

Example Sentences

"The flight plan called for step climbing from an initial cruising altitude of FL330 to the final altitude of FL350 halfway through the flight."
"The step climb from FL340 through FL360 and FL380 to FL400 will reduce our fuel burn compared to if we cruised at FL340 for the whole flight."

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

step climbs (present, singular) step climbing (participle, present) step climbed (participle, past) step climbed (past) step-climb (alternative) step climbs (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

cruise-climb

Questions

What does step climb mean?: To periodically climb to higher and higher altitudes during cruise flight, as the aircraft becomes lighter from fuel burnoff, to take advantage of the reduced drag at higher altitudes; like cruise-climbing, but with the aircraft climbing in discrete steps instead of continuously.

How to pronounce step climb

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