V/STOL (v??stôl?)n.1. The capability of taking off and landing vertically or on a short runway.2. An aircraft having such capability.[v(ertical) s(hort) t(ake)o(ff and) l(anding).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.V/STOL (?vi?st?l) n. a convertiplane capable of taking off and landing vertically or on a short runway. [1960?65; v(ertical)/s(hort) t(ake)o(ff and) l(anding)] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.