name, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A 2011 controversy around the broadcast by Nine News of fake footage of a helicopter supposedly flying near Beerwah, Queensland, where the remains of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe had been found earlier that month. Australia, informal
2. 2
   An Australian political scandal of 2014 involving Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop flying from Melbourne to a party fundraiser in Geelong, at a cost of AUD$5227. Australia, informal
3. 3
   A 2013 controversy around alleged bribery and corruption in the purchase of a fleet of helicopters for Indian state officials. India, informal

Etymology

From chopper + -gate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.