to land in a body of water in a returning spacecraft.
2.
(of a spacecraft) to land in a body of water.
Origin
1955-60, Americanism
Examples from the web for splash down
His projectiles are antique and inaccurate, and he wouldn't live to see the first one splash down if he ever did decide to go mad.
In early summer numerous waterfalls splash down the lava cliffs.
British Dictionary definitions for splash down
splashdown
/ˈsplæʃˌdaʊn/
noun
1.
the controlled landing of a spacecraft on water at the end of a space flight
2.
the time scheduled for this event
verb
3.
(intransitive, adverb) (of a spacecraft) to make a splashdown
Idioms and Phrases with splash down
splash down
Land in water, as in The spacecraft splashed down within a few hundred yards of the pickup point. The splash in this idiom alludes to the impact of a solid body on water. [ c. 1960 ]