air

- 14 dictionary results

air

1 [air]

–noun

1.	a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and minute amounts of other gases that surrounds the earth and forms its atmosphere.

2.	a stir in the atmosphere; a light breeze.

3.	overhead space; sky: The planes filled the air.

4.	circulation; publication; publicity: to give air to one's theories.

5.	the general character or complexion of anything; appearance: His early work had an air of freshness and originality.

6.	the peculiar look, appearance, and bearing of a person: There is an air of mystery about him.

7.	airs, affected or unnatural manner; manifestation of pride or vanity; assumed haughtiness: He acquired airs that were insufferable to his friends.

Music.

a.	a tune; melody.

b.	the soprano or treble part.

an aria.

d.	Also, ayre. an Elizabethan art song.

9.	aircraft as a means of transportation: to arrive by air; to ship goods by air.

10.	Informal. air conditioning or an air-conditioning system: The price includes tires, radio, and air.

11.	Radio. the medium through which radio waves are transmitted.

12.	Archaic. breath.

–verb (used with object)

13.	to expose to the air; give access to the open air; ventilate (often fol. by out): We air the bedrooms every day.

14.	to expose ostentatiously; bring to public notice; display: to air one's opinions; to air one's theories.

15.	to broadcast or televise.

–verb (used without object)

16.	to be exposed to the open air (often fol. by out): Open the window and let the room air out.

17.	to be broadcast or televised.

–adjective

18.	operating by means of air pressure or by acting upon air: an air drill; an air pump.

19.	of or pertaining to aircraft or to aviation: air industry.

20.	taking place in the air; aerial: air war.

—Idioms

21.	clear the air, to eliminate dissension, ambiguity, or tension from a discussion, situation, etc.: The staff meeting was intended to help clear the air.

22.

get the air, Informal.

a.	to be rejected, as by a lover.

b.	to be dismissed, as by an employer: He had worked only a few days when he got the air.

23.

give (someone) the air, Informal.

a.	to reject, as a lover: He was bitter because she gave him the air.

b.	to dismiss, as an employee.

24.	in the air, in circulation; current: There's a rumor in the air that we're moving to a new location.

25.	into thin air, completely out of sight or reach: He vanished into thin air.

26.

off the air,

a.	not broadcasting: The station goes off the air at midnight.

b.	not broadcast; out of operation as a broadcast: The program went off the air years ago.

c.	(of a computer) not in operation.

27.

on the air,

a.	in the act of broadcasting; being broadcast: The program will be going on the air in a few seconds.

b.	(of a computer) in operation.

28.	put on airs, to assume an affected or haughty manner: As their fortune increased, they began to put on airs.

29.

take the air,

a.	to go out-of-doors; take a short walk or ride.

b.	Slang. to leave, esp. hurriedly.

c.	to begin broadcasting.

30.

up in the air,

a.	Also, in the air. undecided or unsettled: The contract is still up in the air.

b.	Informal. angry; perturbed: There is no need to get up in the air over a simple mistake.

31.	walk or tread on air, to feel very happy; be elated.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME eir < OF air < L āēr- (acc. āerem) < Gk āer- (s. of ā

r) the lower atmosphere; conflated with (especially for defs. 4 and 5) F air, OF aire nature, character < L ager field (cf. acre ) and ārea threshing floor, clearing, area; and with (for def. 7) F air < It aria aria

Related forms:

airlike, adjective

Synonyms:
2. See wind ¹ . 5, 6. impression, aspect. 6. aura, demeanor, attitude. See manner ¹ .

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air

2 [air]

Scot.

–adjective

early.

–adverb

2.	Obsolete. before; previously.

Origin:
see ere

A⋅ïr

[ah-eer]

–noun

a region in N Niger, in the Sahara: low massif and oases. ab. 30,000 sq. mi. (77,700 sq. km).

Also called Asben.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To air

air (âr)

1. A colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, mainly nitrogen (approximately 78 percent) and oxygen (approximately 21 percent) with lesser amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, and other gases.
2. This mixture with varying amounts of moisture and particulate matter, enveloping the earth; the atmosphere.
3. The sky; the firmament.
4. A giant void; nothingness: The money vanished into thin air.
5. Public utterance; vent: gave air to their grievances.
6. The electronic broadcast media: "often ridiculed . . . extremist groups on air" (Christian Science Monitor).
7. A melody or tune, especially in the soprano or tenor range.
8. A solo with or without accompaniment.
1. The sky; the firmament.
2. A giant void; nothingness: The money vanished into thin air.
3. Public utterance; vent: gave air to their grievances.
4. The electronic broadcast media: "often ridiculed . . . extremist groups on air" (Christian Science Monitor).
5. A melody or tune, especially in the soprano or tenor range.
6. A solo with or without accompaniment.
An atmospheric movement; a breeze or wind.
Aircraft: send troops to Europe by air.
1. Public utterance; vent: gave air to their grievances.
2. The electronic broadcast media: "often ridiculed . . . extremist groups on air" (Christian Science Monitor).
3. A melody or tune, especially in the soprano or tenor range.
4. A solo with or without accompaniment.
A peculiar or characteristic impression; an aura.
Personal bearing, appearance, or manner; mien.
airs An affected, often haughty pose; affectation. See Synonyms at affectation.
Music
1. A melody or tune, especially in the soprano or tenor range.
2. A solo with or without accompaniment.
Air conditioning.
Archaic Breath.

v. aired, air·ing, airs

v. tr.

To expose so that air can dry, cool, or freshen; ventilate.
To give vent to publicly: airing my pet peeves. See Synonyms at vent¹.
To broadcast on television or radio: "The ad was submitted to CBS . . . which accepted and aired it" (New York).

v. intr.
To be broadcast on television or radio: "tidbits that will air on tonight's 6 o'clock news" (Terry Ann Knopf).
adj.

Of or relating to the air or the movement of air: an air tube.
Existing or living in the air; aerial.
Powered by compressed air: an air horn.
Containing or inflated by air.
Of or relating to aircraft or aeronautics.
Of or relating to the broadcast or transmission of radio or television signals.
Imaginary or unreal: "The guy had just hit it big . . . after ten years of eating air sandwiches" (Jonathan Kellerman).

[Partly from Middle English air, gas, atmosphere (from Old French, from Latin āēr, from Greek; see wer-¹ in Indo-European roots) and partly from French air, nature, quality, place of origin (from Latin ager, place, field; see agriculture, and Latin ārea, open space, threshing floor; see area). N., sense 9, from French air, tune, from Italian aria; see aria.]

Word Origin & History

air (1)

c.1300, "invisible gases that make up the atmosphere," from O.Fr. air, from L. ærem (nom. ær), from Gk. aer (gen. æros) "air" (related to aenai "to blow, breathe"), of unknown origin, possibly from a base *awer- and thus related to aeirein "to raise" and arteria "windpipe, artery" (see aorta), on notion of "lifting, that which rises." In Homer mostly "thick air, mist;" later "air" as one of the four elements. Words for "air" in Indo-European languages tend to be associated with wind, brightness, sky. Replaced native lyft, luft (see loft). The verb meaning "to expose to open air" is first recorded 1530. Broadcasting sense (e.g. on the air) first recorded 1927. Air-conditioning first attested 1909, originally an industrial process; main modern use in residences and office buildings is from 1930s. Air-freshener first attested 1949. Air-tight "impervious to air" is from 1760; fig. sense of "incontrovertible" (of arguments, alabis, etc.) is from 1929. Airmail is from 1913; airport first attested 1919; Airhead "empty-headed person" first recorded 1972. Airily is from 1766. To give (someone) the air "dismiss" is from 1900.

air (2)

"assumed manner, affected appearance," 1660 (esp. in phrase put on airs, 1781), perhaps via Fr. air, from L. ager "place, field" (see acre) on notion of "place of origin." Air in the sense of "manner, appearance" (e.g. an air of mystery) is attested in Eng. from 1596, an independent adoption of Fr. air, which had acquired this sense.

air (3)

"melody, tune," 1590, from It. aria (see aria).

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: air
Pronunciation: 'a(&)r, 'e(&)r
Function: noun
: a mixture of invisible odorless tasteless sound-transmitting gases that is composed byvolume chiefly of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, 0.03 percent carbon dioxide, varying amounts of water vapor, and minute amounts of rare gases (as helium), that surroundsthe earth with half its mass within four miles of the earth's surface, that has a pressure at sea level of about 14.7 pounds per square inch, and that has a density of 1.293 grams per liter at 0°Cand 760 mm pressure

Medical Dictionary

air (âr)
n.

A colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, approximately 78 percent nitrogen and approximately 21 percent oxygen with lesser amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, and other gases.
This mixture, with varying amounts of moisture and particulate matter, enveloping Earth; the atmosphere.
Any of various respiratory gases. No longer in technical use.

Science Dictionary

air (âr) Pronunciation Key
The colorless, odorless, tasteless mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth. Air consists of about 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen, with the remaining part made up mainly of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, and krypton in decreasing order of volume. Air also contains varying amounts of water vapor, particulate matter such as dust and soot, and chemical pollutants.

Computing Dictionary

AIR standard
A future infrared standard from IrDA. AIR will provide in-room multipoint to multipoint connectivity. AIR supports a data rate of 4 Mbps at a distance of 4 metres, and 250 Kbps at up to 8 metres. It is designed for cordless connections to multiple peripherals and meeting room collaboration applications.
See also IrDA Data and IrDA Control
(1999-10-14)

Bible Dictionary

Air

the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 9:2; 16:17). This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew _ruah_ (Job 41:16); elsewhere it is the rendering of _shamaiyim_, usually translated "heavens." The expression "to speak into the air" (1 Cor. 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to "beat the air" (1 Cor. 9:26) denotes to labour in vain.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

air

In addition to the idiom beginning with air, also see breath of fresh air; castles in the air; clear the air; give someone the air; hot air; in the air; into (out of) thin air; nose in the air; off the air; put on airs; up in the air; walk on air; wash (air) one's dirty linen.

Abbreviations & Acronyms

AIR
American Institutes for Research

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