Plain English Meaning

A planned up-and-down path the FMS works out for the flight, showing what altitude the aircraft should be at over each point along the route. The autopilot or pilot then flies the aircraft to match that path.

Full Definition

A vertical flight path computed by the Flight Management System (FMS) that defines the desired altitudes and vertical speeds along a route, typically used to descend or climb the aircraft along a planned path between waypoints. The profile is built from altitude constraints stored in the flight plan (such as crossing restrictions at named fixes) and the aircraft's , and the FMS uses it to generate for the autopilot or pilot to follow.