- a cloth canopy which fills with air and allows a person or heavy object attached to it to descend slowly when dropped from an aircraft, or which is released from the rear of an aircraft on landing to act as a brake降落伞; 减速伞。
1
- drop or cause to drop from an aircraft by parachute跳伞; 用降落伞空投, 伞投：
no obj. airborne units parachuted in to secure the airport空降部队跳伞进入该地区保护机场
with obj. an air operation to parachute relief supplies into Bosnia.把救援物资伞投到波斯尼亚的空中行动。
2
- appoint or be appointed in an emergency or from outside the existing hierarchy紧急任命; 临危受命; 任命现任各级领导以外的人; 被从现任各级领导以外任命：
with obj. the former Conservative minister was controversially parachuted into the safe seat.原保守党大臣被“空降”到这个靠得住的议会选区, 对此争议颇多。
词源
late 18th cent.: from French para- 'protection against' + chute 'fall'.