air conditioning

American  

[air kuhn-dish-uh-ning] / ˈɛər kənˈdɪʃ ə nɪŋ /

noun

1. a system or process for controlling the temperature, humidity, and sometimes the purity of the air in an interior, as of an office, theater, laboratory, or house, especially one capable of cooling.

2. an air-conditioning system or unit.

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air conditioning British  

noun

1. a system or process for controlling the temperature and sometimes the humidity and purity of the air in a house, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• air conditioner
  noun
• air-conditioning
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of air conditioning

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

HCFCs and HFCs have been widely used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026

On days that aren’t too hot, they turn on a dashboard fan to help with ventilation rather than crank up the air conditioning, which burns fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

"They do play with your mind - running around at night, in the ceiling, the air conditioning units. You can hear them and you can smell them - it's like a decaying body."

From BBC • May 30, 2026

And finally, they’ll examine why the UK and Europe are still so resistant to air conditioning despite being plagued by deadly heatwaves.

From Slate • May 30, 2026

He saw no sign of air conditioning, which meant it must have been a thousand degrees in there.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan