The Collaborative Dictionary

Windage \Wind"age\, n. [From Wind air in motion.] [1913 Webster]

(Gun.) The difference between the diameter of the bore of a gun and that of the shot fired from it. [1913 Webster]

The sudden compression of the air caused by a projectile in passing close to another body. [1913 Webster]

Word Net

windage

1 the retarding force of air friction on a moving object

2 bore-to-projectile difference in diameter

3 exposure to the wind (as the exposed part of a vessel's hull which is responsible for wind resistance) [syn: wind exposure]

4 the deflection of a projectile resulting from the effects of wind [syn: wind deflection]

Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object.

There are two possible causes of windage:

1. the object is moving and being slowed by resistance from the air
2. a wind is blowing producing a force on the object

The term can refer to :

• either, the effect of the force, for example the deflection of a missile or an aircraft by a cross wind
• or, the area and shape of the object that make it susceptible to friction, for example those parts of a boat that are exposed to the wind.

Aerodynamic streamlining can be used to reduce windage.

There is a similar hydrodynamic effect to windage.

In firearms parlance, windage refers to the side-to-side adjustment of a rifle's sight, used to change the horizontal component of the aiming point. (The up-down adjustment for the vertical component is the elevation.) It can also refer to the difference in diameter between the bore and the shot, especially in muskets and cannons.