Definition of "slipstream" [slipstream]

• The turbulent flow of air driven backward by the propeller or propellers of an aircraft. Also called race2. (noun)
• The area of reduced pressure or forward suction produced by and immediately behind a fast-moving object as it moves through air or water. (noun)
• To drive or cycle in the slipstream of a vehicle ahead. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term slipstream was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, July 1989."
• "Within the cosy ghetto of serious science fiction and fantasy readers, the term "slipstream" is sometimes used as a label for stories that linger in the liminal borderlands between die-hard genre definitions."
• "By the offered definition, I think "slipstream" is — and has been, for over a quarter of a century — my favorite."