Act of flying with the wings rigidly extended instead of being flapped (said of birds); act of flying with a glider; act of soaring; (Music) slur

The art of using air currents to fly unpowered aircraft. Technically, gliding involves the gradual loss of altitude; gliders designed for soaring flight (utilizing air rising up a cliff face or hill, warm air rising as a “thermal” above sun-heated ground, and so on) are known as sailplanes. The sport of hang-gliding was developed in the 1970s.
Pioneers include George Cayley, Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute (1832–1910), and the Wright brothers, the last-named perfecting gliding technique in 1902. Launching may be by rubber catapult from a hilltop by a winch that raises the glider like a kite (in the UK, the only remaining site for catapult launches is Long Mynd in Shropshire); or by aircraft tow. In World War II, towed troopcarrying gliders were used by the Germans in Crete and the Allies at Arnhem.