air guitar

American  

noun

1. an imaginary guitar that one pretends to be playing.

   a fan playing air guitar along with the band.

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air guitar British  

noun

1. an imaginary guitar played while miming to rock music

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• air guitarist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of air guitar

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Oliver summons his son by joyfully remembering his virtuosity on air guitar.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025

As for whether he was mimicking someone urinating, Mr Van Quickenborne - widely known as "Quickie" in Belgium - said he was in fact performing an "air guitar solo".

From BBC • Sep. 7, 2023

But each one catches your eye with small-scale wonders and charm: Culbreath busting out some air guitar and the Moonwalk, Emily Pietruszka popping like a fierce robot.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2023

While teammates pushed hard on their headphones to hear their nonmetal music, Murphy was playing air guitar and drums in between sets of lifts, nodding his head and attacking his workout.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2023

There were cards that required you to play an air guitar solo, speak like an English-dubbed anime character, eat leaves like a giraffe, engage in staring contests, and end every sentence with the word dawg.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater