AIR | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Dictionary Translate Grammar Thesaurus +Plus Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games Shop Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out {{userName}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Log in / Sign up English (UK)

Meaning of air in English

air noun uk

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ r /
us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ er /

air noun ( GAS )

Add to word list Add to word list 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 examples Fewer 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. More examples Fewer examples 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 acrolein acrylamide activated charcoal adenine agglomerate calcium carbonate citric acid ethene forever chemical formaldehyde formic acid fullerene nerve gas nitrogen dioxide silica gel SLS sodium bicarbonate sodium lauryl sulphate sterol sucrase See more results »

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 More examples Fewer examples 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 . SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Air travel: aviation aerial bombardment aero- aerobatic aerodynamically aerofoil aeronautic aerospace airline airsick airworthy barnstorm depressurize ditch flight simulator fly-by-wire flyable flyer flying machine glide path ground speed See more results »

air noun ( MANNER )

C2 [ S ] manner or appearance : an air of She has an air of confidence about her. More examples Fewer examples 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 . SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Conditions and characteristics -ance ability adverse conditions age ambience appearance aspect formatively good/bad karma idiom have it in you idiom hood presentation shape shine someone's/something's former self stock-in-trade trait trappings unaffiliated undercurrent See more results »

air noun ( BROADCAST )

  be on/off (the) air C1 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. See more

air noun ( TUNE )

[ C ] a simple tune : Bach's Air on a G String SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Musical pieces arrangement aubade ballade bolero bossa nova coda jingle medley nocturne octet opus outro partita sonata sonatina song form streetscape string quartet string quintet voluntary See more results »

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 uk

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ r /
us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ 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 annotate annotation annotator aside backbite backbiting barb commentary descant dog whistle felicity innuendo line mention observation parting shot platitude profundity sideswipe zinger See more results »

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 adjust airing bed bioremediation clean something out phrasal verb dust dusting freshen freshen (someone/something) up phrasal verb give something a going-over going-over muck organizer re-rack sandblast scald smarten (someone/something) up phrasal verb spiff someone/something up phrasal verb spruce tidy See more results »

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 airplay airtime airwaves announcement audio description audio-described executive producer ham radio headline interchannel livestream podcast producer scheduler serialization serialize showrunner slow motion transmission tune See more results »

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 aside beneath the/ someone's radar idiom benign neglect block something out phrasal verb brush brush someone/something off phrasal verb invisible let go idiom let sleeping dogs lie idiom let something go/pass idiom let something ride idiom look straight/right through someone idiom shelf shut someone/something out phrasal verb sleeping beauty slight slightingly snub someone's back is turned idiom the silent treatment idiom See more results » (Definition of air from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

air | American Dictionary

air noun us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ eər /

air noun ( GAS )

Add to word list Add to word list [ 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 us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ 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

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ 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 ] uk

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ r /
us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

  by air Add to word list Add to word list 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.

Collocations with air

air

These are words often used in combination with air .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

air attack Such air attack is said to be pressed home at levels determined by military considerations only. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   air circulation This timber formed a platform on the bottom of the incinerator and lifted the waste for better air circulation . From the Cambridge English Corpus   air control Pneumatic control valves regulate air temperature and pressure to ensure that pressure is not lost through bleed air control system. 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. See all collocations with air What is the pronunciation of air ?

Translations of air

in Chinese (Traditional) 氣體, 空氣, 飛機… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 气体, 空气, 飞机… See more in Spanish aire, aéreo, hacer público… See more in Portuguese ar, aviāo, ária… See more in more languages in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Russian in Telugu in Arabic in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian हवा, विमानाने प्रवास करणे, झलक… See more 空気, 大気, 飛行機(による)… See more hava, hava yolu, bir şeyin görüntüsü… See more air [masculine], avion [masculine], diffuser… See more aire, aeri, de l’aire… See more lucht, voorkomen, melodie… See more நாம் சுவாசிக்கும் பூமியைச் சுற்றியுள்ள வாயுக்களின் கலவை, ஒரு விமானத்தில் பயணம், பாங்கு அல்லது தோற்றம்… See more हवा, वायु, वायुयान… See more હવા, વાતાવરણ, વિમાનમાં મુસાફરી… See more luft, præg, udseende… See more luft, luften, utseende… See more udara, penampilan, irama… See more die Luft, die Atmosphäre, die Melodie… See more luft [masculine], fly, sende… See more ہوا, ہوائی سفر, شان… See more повітря, атмосфера, небо… See more воздух, по воздуху, вид… See more గాలి, భూమిని చుట్టి ఉండే మరియు మనం శ్వాసించే వాయు మిశ్రమం, విమానంలో ప్రయాణించడం… See more الهَواء, الجَوّ… See more বায়ু, বাতাস, পৃথিবীকে ঘিরে থাকা গ্যাসের মিশ্রণ এবং যা থেকে আমরা শ্বাস নিই… See more vzduch, obloha, vzhled… See more hawa, udara, lagu… See more อากาศ, บรรยากาศ, กลิ่นอาย… See more không khí, không trung, không gian… See more powietrze, samolot, lot… See more 공기, (비행기와 관련된 활동을 지칭할때 다른 명사 앞에 쓰여) 항공… See more aria, aereo, esprimere… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

aimlessness ain't aintcha aioli air air ambulance air bag air base air bladder {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of air

All air bag air base air conditioner air conditioning air force air mass air raid See all meanings Idioms and phrases hot air idiom be on/off (the) air phrase in the air idiom walk on air idiom clear the air idiom cushion of air phrase into thin air idiom See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

the penny drops

If the penny drops, you suddenly understand something.

About this

Blog

Anyone who’s anyone: talking about how important people are (2)

May 21, 2025 Read More

New Words

recession blonde May 26, 2025 More new words has been added to list To top Contents English American Business Examples Collocations Translations

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025

Learn Learn Learn New Words Help In Print Word of the Year 2021 Word of the Year 2022 Word of the Year 2023 Word of the Year 2024 Develop Develop Develop Dictionary API Double-Click Lookup Search Widgets License Data About About About Accessibility Cambridge English Cambridge University Press & Assessment Consent Management Cookies and Privacy Corpus Terms of Use

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025

{{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games Shop {{userName}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}} Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Dictionary +Plus Word Lists Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents English    Noun   air (GAS) the air air (AIRCRAFT) air (MANNER) air (BROADCAST) be on/off (the) air air (TUNE) Verb   air (MAKE KNOWN) air (DRY) air (BROADCAST) air (IGNORE) American    Noun   air (GAS) air (SPACE ABOVE) air (FLIGHT) air (MANNER) air (BROADCAST) on the air off the air Verb   air (BROADCAST) air (MAKE KNOWN) air (CLEAN) Noun   airing Business    Noun   air by air up in the air Examples Collocations Translations Grammar All translations My word lists

To add air to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add air to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{name}} More Go to your word lists Tell us about this example sentence:
Posted 28 Comments