parachute

1. 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.

   the saviour of many pilots has been the parachute

   the planes came over the coast and started to drop supplies by parachute

   a parachute regiment

1. drop from an aircraft by parachute.

   airborne units parachuted in to secure the airport

   an air operation to parachute relief supplies into the region

2. appoint or be appointed in an emergency or from outside the existing hierarchy.

   an old crony of the CEO was controversially parachuted into the job

late 18th century: from French para- ‘protection against’ + chute ‘fall’.