midair

[ mid-air ]

noun

1. any point in the air not contiguous with the earth or other solid surface:

   to catch a ball in midair.

midair

/ ˌmɪdˈɛə /

noun

1. 1. some point above ground level, in the air
   2. ( as modifier )

      a midair collision of aircraft

Word History and Origins

Origin of midair¹

First recorded in 1660–70; mid- + air ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see under leave hanging .

Example Sentences

Her midair tricks such as “loop the loops” and the figure eight gained her a following rare for any woman, let alone a woman of color.

From Ozy

For longer jumps, or those that necessitated landing higher or lower than the starting point, many squirrels rotated midair, using their legs to “jump” off an adjacent vertical wall in a parkour-style maneuver.

From Science News

The day of the accident, the company acknowledged on Facebook that one of its planes was involved in the fatal midair collision.

From ProPublica

Our finding that Alaska has seen a series of midair collisions involving commercial flights relied on the NTSB’s midair collision flag to identify those crashes.

From ProPublica

Fatal midair collisions involving commercial aircraft are practically unheard of in the rest of the country, but in Alaska, there have been five in the past five years alone.

From ProPublica

In contrast, drones cannot refuel in midair, conduct airdrops, or carry a meaningful amount of munitions.

From The Daily Beast

Sociologists refer to this sort of in-midair rapid switch as risk compensation.

From The Daily Beast

He said nothing as startling as he did in his last midair press conference last July when he said “Who am I to judge?”

From The Daily Beast

A traveler attempted to jump from their flight midair while another spat on fellow passengers in a fit of rage.

From The Daily Beast

Dancers are suspended in midair like the cast of a ratchet Cirque du Soleil performance.

From The Daily Beast

The three men lounged in midair, grinning foolishly as they "swam" about the tiny cabin.

From Project Gutenberg

For ten terrible seconds, while the man clung to wires and the mule hung trapped in midair, the other cable held.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing, humbug, a house hanging in midair, which will tumble down directly mankind pronounces three short words: I will not.

From Project Gutenberg

The words trailed off softly and left the statement hanging interrogatively in midair.

From Project Gutenberg

The retreat struck us as breathlessly as though we had been whirled by a wind-storm into midair on the afternoon of a summer day.

From Project Gutenberg