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air quotes

American

plural noun

a gesture in which two fingers of each hand draw quotation marks in the air, used when uttering a word or phrase one does not think is appropriate or accurate.

Etymology

Origin of air quotes

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Or should audiences be reading into the suspicious air quotes around the title?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

Gaffigan is serious enough about his pursuit to say “my whiskey journey” several times in conversation with a straight face and no air quotes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

Dahlia and I always put this “doctrine” in air quotes.

From Slate • Jul. 8, 2025

“Like, how can I be an ‘expert’ — and I say that with heavy, heavy air quotes — and still be struggling in this way?”

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024

“Yeah, he believes Malik is going to be able to identify some factor in tuatara blood that makes them age slowly, and then he’s going to ‘cure death,’” Davis said, using air quotes.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023