Meaning of air in English

air

noun

/eər/ us

/er/

air noun (GAS)

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A2 [ U ]

the mixture of gases that surrounds the earth and that we breathe:

fresh air I went outside to get some fresh air.

You should put some air in your tyres - they look flat to me.

the air B2 [ S ]

the space above the ground, especially high above the ground:

The air was filled with the scent of roses.

in the air Throw your gun down and put your hands in the air.

into the air The police fired into the air to clear the demonstrators from the streets.

More examplesFewer examples

The balloon rose gently (up) into the air.
The volcano spewed a giant cloud of ash, dust, and gases into the air.
The extent of the flooding can only be fully appreciated when viewed from the air.
The ball carried high into the air and landed the other side of the fence.
A cloud of dust rose in the air as the car roared past.

informal

the distance above the ground achieved by jumping or by hitting or throwing a ball:

A 10-metre half pipe ramp allows the skateboarders to get massive air.

She gave her lob plenty of air.

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It's the dampness in the air that is bad for your lungs.
He let the air out of the balloon.
The mountain air was wonderfully pure.
There was a rush of air as she opened the door.
Stricter controls on air pollution would help to reduce acid rain.
Warm air rises by the process of convection.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Chemicals, chemical compounds & gases

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

The Earth & outer space - general words

General terms used in ball sports

Sports & games generally

air noun (AIRCRAFT)

A2 [ U ]

travel in an aircraft:

by air I don't travel much by air.

an air crash/disaster

air travel

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The air force counterattacked and repelled the invasion.
Human error has been blamed for the air crash.
Will the goods be sent by air or sea freight?
The resort is easily accessible by road, rail, and air.
The policy of charging air travellers for vegetarian meals proved unpopular and has already been rescinded.

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Air travel: aviation

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air noun (MANNER)

C2 [ S ]

manner or appearance:

an air of She has an air of confidence about her.

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He had a slight air of menace which I found unsettling.
He retains an almost professorial air.
I just assumed he owned the place - he had a proprietary air about him.
The company operates out of modern offices and expensive hotel suites to create an air of respectability.
He glared at me with an air of accusation.

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Conditions and characteristics

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air noun (BROADCAST)

be on/off (the) air

If a programme or a person is on/off (the) air, they are/are not broadcasting on radio or television:

The radio station is on air from 6 a.m.

air noun (TUNE)

[ C ]

a simple tune:

Bach's Air on a G String

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Musical pieces

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Idioms

airs and graces
be walking/floating on air
in the air
the air is blue
turn the air blue
up in the air

air

verb

/eər/ us

/er/

air verb (MAKE KNOWN)

[ T ]

to make opinions or complaints known to other people:

air a grievance Putting a complaint in the suggestions box is one way of airing your grievances.

air your views He'll air his views on the war, whether people want to listen or not.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Remarks & remarking

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Expressing and asking opinions

air verb (DRY)

[ I or T ]

to become dry and/or fresh, or to cause to become dry and/or fresh:

My mother always airs the sheets before she makes the beds.

Leave the windows open to let the room air a bit.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Cleaning & tidying places & things

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air verb (BROADCAST)

[ I or T ] US

to broadcast something or be broadcast on radio or television:

be aired live The game will be aired live on CBS at 7.00 tonight.

The interview with the president will air tomorrow morning.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Broadcasting in general

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air verb (IGNORE)

[ T ] informal

to intentionally ignore or not answer someone:

Why is he airing me?

You asked a question and you got aired.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Neglecting and ignoring

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(Definition of air from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

air | American Dictionary

air

noun

/eər/

air noun (GAS)

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[ U ]

the mixture of gases that surrounds the earth and that we breathe:

Let’s go outside for some fresh air.

[ U ]

Air pressure is the force that air produces when it presses against any surface.

air noun (SPACE ABOVE)

[ U ]

the space above, esp. high above, the ground:

Keith kicked the football high in the air.

air noun (FLIGHT)

[ U ]

flight above the ground, esp. in an aircraft:

air travel

You can get there by train, but it’s faster by air.

air noun (MANNER)

[ C ]

a manner or appearance:

She had an air of confidence.

air noun (BROADCAST)

on the air

a program or a person on the air is broadcasting on radio or television:

His show is on the air from 8:00 to 8:30 every Tuesday night.

off the air

A program or person that is not broadcasting on radio or television is off the air.

air

verb

/er, ær/

air verb (BROADCAST)

[ I/T ]

to broadcast something on radio or television:

[ T ] The game will be aired at 9 p.m. tomorrow.

air verb (MAKE KNOWN)

[ T ]

to make your opinions or complaints known to other people:

The meeting gave us a chance to air our complaints.

air verb (CLEAN)

[ I/T ]

to let air from outside come in a room or other inside space to make it smell cleaner, or to put something outside in the air to make it smell cleaner:

[ M ] Let’s open some windows and air out this place.

airing

noun [ C ] us

/ˈer·ɪŋ, ˈær-/

The third airing of the miniseries will begin next week.

(Definition of air from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

air | Business English

air

noun [ U ]

/eər/ us

by air

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TRANSPORT

travelling by or using planes:

arrive/travel by air 25% of the state's economy is fueled by tourists who travel by air.

deliver/send/ship sth by air The company adds a surcharge for express packages delivered by air.

up in the air

if a matter is up in the air, it is uncertain and no final decision has been made about it:

The future of the company has been up in the air since one of its key shareholders was compelled to sell its stake.

(Definition of air from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of air

air

That percentages of air being used add up to one unit of air is purely arbitrary.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As industrial production has fallen so have associated negative externalities, leading to reductions in air, water, soil, and noise pollution.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The ducted exhaust of 'vitiated air' was removed through grilles near or in the ceiling.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Temperatures regimes are also different in gaps, with higher soil and air temperatures during the day, and cooler temperatures at night.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, soil and air temperatures were not significantly different between burned and unburned areas.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The endoscopes may then be dried by either purging with dry air or flushing with 70% alcohol.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is also not unique in suffering high levels of air and water pollution and facing severe threats to its biological resources.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The evolution of the turbulent velocity field in these air data is far more coherent than were such measurements in water.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Subsequently, saltation begins when particles move vertically into the air by a distance of the order of their diameter.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Each drop of rain changes the form; even the wind and the air itself, invisible to our eyes, etches its presence.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Currently, allowed emission standards have been set for 28 air pollutants and 29 water pollutants.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

All samples were air-dried and sieved to pass through 2 mm mesh.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In addition, one of the engines drove a high-pressure fan that forced foul air from the refuse on the tipping platform across the fire.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

His pockets had to be emptied of doofers from time to time, and aired.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The pilots have earlier received clearance from an air traffic controller to taxi to the runway.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.