What does fuselage mean?
Word: Fuselage
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Fuselage means the long main body of an aircraft, where the passengers, crew and cargo travel.
How do you spell fuselage?
Syllables: fu - se - lage
Tricky part: The ending is the surprise. The word came from French, and those last letters sound nothing like the age in page, so pupils spell them by ear.
Watch out for: fuselarge, fuselaj
Memory tip: Garage is another word borrowed from French. Park the two side by side in your mind, since they end alike.
Fuselage in a sentence
Example 1: Workers painted the airline's logo along the fuselage of the new plane.
Example 2: From the window seat, I could see the wing joining the fuselage.
Example 3: The engineers checked every panel of the fuselage before the test flight.
Fun Fact
Its French source means shaped like a spindle, the thin tapering rod once used for spinning thread. Aircraft bodies narrow towards the ends in much the same way.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
f_s_lage
a) u, e
b) e, e
c) u, i
d) o, e
Show answer
a) u, e. The opening sounds like the word few, and the weak vowel in the middle is an e.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
fusellage
a) g
b) e
c) s
d) l
Show answer
d) l. Only one l stands between the two vowels.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Rain streaked along the whole uaelfgse of the cargo plane, from the nose to the tail fin.
a) foliage
b) fixture
c) fuselage
d) footage
Show answer
c) fuselage. Only the body of a plane runs from nose to tail, and only that word uses a u and an s.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. saphire 2. fuselage 3. rhythym 4. vaccuum
a) a space with no air in it
b) a deep blue precious stone
c) the tube-like body of a plane
d) a regular, repeated beat in music
Show answer
c) the tube-like body of a plane. Doubles are the trouble in this list: sapphire needs two p's, vacuum two u's, and rhythm only one y.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where would you look for a fuselage at an airport?
a) in the hall where bags are collected
b) on the roof of the control tower
c) behind the desk where tickets are sold
d) on an aircraft standing at the gate
Show answer
d) on an aircraft standing at the gate
2. What is attached directly to a fuselage?
a) the sails of a yacht
b) the pedals of a cycle
c) the wings of a plane
d) the rails of a train
Show answer
c) the wings of a plane
