say it: ER-ee-uhl
aerial is a noun and adjective meaning "a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer". It carries 4 recorded senses.
a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer
an electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals
existing or living or growing or operating in the air
“aerial roots of a philodendron”
“aerial particles”
“small aerial creatures such as butterflies”
“aerial warfare”
“aerial photography”
“aerial cable cars”
botany
characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
“figures light and aeriform come unlooked for and melt away”
“aerial fancies”
“an airy apparition”
“physical rather than ethereal forms”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for aerial come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.