air
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɛə/
ipa: [ɛː]
enpr: âr
ipa: /ɛɹ/
ipa: [ɛɚ]
ipa: /eː/
note: without the cheer–chair merger
ipa: /eə/
note: New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
ipa: /iə/
ipa: /eɹ/
note: Lancashire, fair–fur merger
ipa: /ɜː(ɹ)/
homophone: Ayr
homophone: ere
homophone: eyre
homophone: heir
homophone: are (“unit of measurement”)
homophone: e'er (US)
homophone: err (one US pronunciation or with fair–fur merger)
homophone: ear (cheer–chair merger)
rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
Forms: form: airs
form: aire
form: ayre
form: eyr
form: ayr
Etymology: From Middle English aire, from Old French air, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr). Displaced native Old English lyft. More at lift, loft.
Senses: examples: text: This drill runs on compressed air.
text: As you ascend, the air gets thinner.
glosses: The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
examples: text: I'm going outside to get some air.
text: Open the window and let some air into the room.
glosses: The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
The substance of the atmosphere seen as an agency of freshness.
topics: alchemy
human-sciences
philosophy
pseudoscience
sciences
glosses: The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
synonyms: wind
examples: text: Jeeves: Foreign travel often liberates emotions best kept in check, sir. The air of North America is notoriously stimulating in this regard, as witness the regrettable behavior of its inhabitants in 1776.
B. Wooster: Hm? What happened in 1776, Jeeves?
Jeeves: I prefer not to dwell on it, if it's convenient to you, sir.
ref: 1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:
text: There was a tension in the air which made me suspect an approaching storm.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
A local environment or atmosphere, in the context of its effects on behavior, health, weather, etc.
examples: text: The air on Mars is very thin and consists mostly of carbon dioxide.
glosses: The substance of the atmosphere on a planet other than Earth.
examples: text: The flock of birds took to the air.
glosses: The apparently open space above the ground which this substance fills, (historical) formerly thought to be limited by the firmament but (meteorology) now considered to be surrounded by the near-vacuum of outer space.
raw_tags: with the
glosses: A breeze; a gentle wind.
examples: text: to give it an air of artistry and sophistication
text: The girl stooped to pluck a rose, and as she bent over it, her profile was clearly outlined. She held the flower to her face with a long-drawn inhalation, then went up the steps, crossed the piazza, opened the door without knocking, and entered the house with the air of one thoroughly at home.
ref: 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
text: Even at the busiest periods, an air of quiet orderliness pervades the hall, and the first impression gained by the traveller is one of efficiency, neatness and cleanliness.
ref: 1951 October, H. A. Vallance, “Across Denmark by Lyntog”, in Railway Magazine, page 658:
text: But the dull, cool, calculating effect given cumulatively through Stalin’s long career, the air of a great glacier moving slowly and by the easiest path to overwhelm some Alpine valley, is only part of the picture. At various times - and especially in his early career - the calm of his general manner was broken, and expression given to the driving emotions that possessed him.
ref: 1968, Robert Conquest, “The Purge Begins”, in The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties, Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 77:
text: November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
Smalling’s quick one-two of yellow cards towards the end of the first half had left an air of inevitability about what would follow and, if anything, it was probably a surprise that City restricted themselves to Sergio Agüero’s goal bearing in mind another of United’s defenders, Marcos Rojo, was taken off on a stretcher early in the second half with a dislocated shoulder.
glosses: A feeling or sense.
examples: text: "He is very plain, undoubtedly—remarkably plain:—but that is nothing compared with his entire want of gentility. I had no right to expect much, and I did not expect much; but I had no idea that he could be so very clownish, so totally without air. I had imagined him, I confess, a degree or two nearer gentility."
ref: 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 4, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:
glosses: A feeling or sense.
A sense of poise, graciousness, or quality.
examples: text: putting on airs
text: He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.
ref: 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
glosses: A feeling or sense.
Pretension; snobbishness; pretence that one is better than others.
examples: text: "If I," said Mr. Collins, "were so fortunate as to be able to sing, I should have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the company with an air; for I consider music as a very innocent diversion, and perfectly compatible with the profession of a clergyman[…]"
ref: 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
text: The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."
ref: 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character, Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 70:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A melody or song, especially a solo; an aria.
glosses: Nothing; absence of anything.
examples: text: Could you turn on the air?
text: Hey, did you mean to leave the airs on all week while you were on vacation?
glosses: An air conditioning system.
glosses: Any specific gas.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
skateboarding
snowboarding
sports
qualifier: motor sports
glosses: The state of being briefly airborne during a jump.
examples: text: Ernst gave a list of political activists who had been denied access to the air by private broadcasters, and pointed out that "Secretary Hoover's signature in New York sells for $150,000 to $200,000," thus limiting access to the air on the part of labor unions and other underrepresented groups.
ref: 1996, Thomas Streeter, Selling the Air, →ISBN:
text: Coming to you live once a month, or whenever I feel like broadcasting a little pirate air.
ref: 2001, Dana Stabenow, The Singing of the Dead, →ISBN, page 17:
text: “These members need air cover in the media.” Paid media is the admission ticket to enter the big-time Washington stage.
ref: 2015, Gary Andres, Paul Hernnson, Lobbying Reconsidered: Politics Under the Influence, page 149:
glosses: A television or radio signal; (by extension) media broadcasts in general.
glosses: Publicity.
Synonyms: atmosphere
aura
luft
nimbus
gas
Derived terms: acid of air
air admittance vent
air ambulance
air bag
airbag
airball
air ball
airband
air bangs
air base
air-bath
air bath
airbeam
air bearing
air bed
airbed
airbill
air biscuit
air bladder
airblast
air-blown asphalt
Airbnb
airboard
airboat
airbomb
airborne
air bounce
airbound
airbox
air-box
airbrake
air brake
air-braked
airbraked
airbrasion
airbrasive
airbreather
airbreathing
air-breathing
air brick
air bridge
airbridge
air brush
air-brush
airbrush
air bubble
air-built
air-burst
air burst
airburst
Airbus
airbus
aircab
air cadet
aircar
air cargo
air carrier
air castle
air cell
air chain
air chamber
aircheck
air chief marshal
Air Chief Marshal
air choke
air cleaner
aircoach
air commode
air commodore
Air Commodore
air compressor
air-con
air-condition
air-conditioned
air-conditioner
air conditioning
air-conditioning
air-cooled
air cooler
air corridor
air cover
aircraft
aircrane
aircrash
air crew
aircrew
air curtain
air cushion
air-cushion vehicle
air cushion vehicle
airdash
air data
airdate
air de cour
air denial
air display
airdock
airdome
air door
air draft
air drain
air drainage
airdraulic
airdrawn
air-dried
air drill
airdrome
air-drop
airdrop
air-drumming
air-dry
air-duct
air duct
air duster
air du temps
air embolism
air engine
airfall
airfare
airfarer
airfaring
airfield
air filter
airflare
airfleet
airflow
air flow
airfoil
air force
air fountain
airframe
air-freight
air freight
airfreight
air freshener
air-fry
air fry
air fryer
air gap
airgap
air-gapped
air gas
airgasm
air-girl
air girl
airglow
airgram
airgraph
airgroup
air guitar
air-guitar
air guitarist
air-gun
air gun
airgun
air gunner
air hammer
airhead
air-head
airheaded
air hockey
airhole
air hole
air horn
airhorn
air-hose
air hose
air host
air hostess
airhouse
air hunger
airing cupboard
air intake
air integration
airish
air jacket
air jail
air kerma rate
air kick
air kiss
air knife
airland
air lane
air-launch
airleg
airless
airletter
air letter
air level
airlift
airlike
airline
air line
airliner
airling
airlink
air loan
air lock
airlock
airmail
air mail
airman
airmark
air marker
air marshal
Air Marshal
air mass
airmass
air mattress
air mile
airminded
airmiss
airmobile
air-mobile
airmonger
air mortar
air motor
air navigation
air off
airometer
air out
air parcel
airpark
airpath
airphone
air photo
airphoto
air photograph
airpipe
air piracy
air pirate
air pistol
airplane
air plant
airplay
airpocalypse
air pocket
air pollutant
air pollution
airponics
air popper
airport
airportable
airpost
air potato
airpower
air pressure
airproof
air-proof
airpuff
air puff test
air-pump
air pump
air punch
air purifier
air quote
air quotes
air rage
air-raid
air raid
air raiding
air-raid shelter
air-raid siren
air raid siren
air-raid warden
air refresher
air reservoir
air resistance
air-ride
air ride
air rifle
air rights
air sac
airs and graces
air sandwich
airscape
airscoop
air scooter
airscrew
air scribe
air-sea rescue
air sense
air shaft
airshaft
airshed
air shed
airshift
airship
air ship
airshoot
air-shot
air shot
air show
air shower
airsick
airsickness
airside
air sign
airsled
air-smoothed
air sock
airsoft
airsome
airspace
air space
Airspeak
air speed
airspeed
air sport
air staff
airstaff
airstair
air steward
air stewardess
airstone
airstop
air stove
airstream
airstrike
air strike
airstrip
airsuit
air superiority
air support
air supremacy
air suspension
air tanker
air taxi
airtaxi
air terminal
air ticket
air tight
airtight
air-tight
air time
airtime
air-to-air
air-to-air missile
air-to-ground
air-to-ship
air-to-surface
air-to-surface missile
air traffic
air traffic control
air traffic controller
airtram
air transport
airtrapping
air travel
air turborocket
air up
air vent
Air Vice Marshal
air vice-marshal
airview
airwalk
air walk
airwall
airwar
air war
airward
air warden
airwards
air washer
airwave
airwaves
airway
airwaybill
air wing
airwise
airwoman
airworthiness
airworthy
airwound
airy
alkaline air
anti-air
antiair
bear in the air
beat the air
big air
bleed air
breath of fresh air
build castles in the air
canned air
cassette air conditioner
castle in the air
catch air
catch big air
change of air
chicken salad air
clear-air turbulence
clear the air
combat air patrol
complemental air
compressed air
compressed-air bath
condensed air
counterair
dead air
dead-air space
deair
dephlogisticated air
direct air capture
disappear into thin air
empyreal air
Finnair
fire air
fixed air
fluoro acid air
forced air
freedoms of the air
free-to-air
free to air
fresh air
full of hot air
gas and air
general of the air force
get some air
take some air
give oneself airs
give someone the air
grab some air
ground-to-air
heavier-than-air
heliair
hepatic air
hot air
hot-air balloon
hot air balloon
hydrogen air
inflammable air
in the air
into thin air
light air
lighter-than-air
liquid air
marine acid air
mephitic air
method air
midair
mid-air
Mountainair
night air
nitrous air
nonair
nose in the air
off-air
off air
off the air
off-the-air
on-air
on air
on-the-air
on the air
open air
open-air
open air museum
open-air museum
out of thin air
phlogisticated air
plein air
plein-air
pseudoair
punch the air
pure air
put on airs
reair
residual air
rockair
school of the air
sea air
ship-to-air
sniffing-the-morning-air position
split-system air conditioner
stationary air
suck all the air out of
suck the air out of
suck up all the air in
surface-to-air
surface-to-air missile
synthetic air
TACAN
tactical air commander
tactical air control center
take air
take the air
thin air
tidal air
too many balls in the air
turn the air blue
up in the air
vanish into thin air
vital air
vitriolic acid air
walk on air
zero air
Related terms: aerate
aero-
aria