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

• air conditioner
  noun
• air-conditioning
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of air conditioning

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

air conditioning

For me, that’s compounded by the fact that I don’t have air conditioning anywhere in the house but for a small, rickety wall unit in the bedroom — and only installed recently.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

They got that result due to a state formula for determining who gets air conditioning.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

"In this heat, if you don't have electricity and air conditioning, it's very tough," the father-of-four said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Magyar asked Hungarians to limit activities that required significant energy consumption between the peak times of 17:00 and 22:00, including charging electric cars and using air conditioning equipment.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

It was a warm day, and they had the air conditioning turned all the way up.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola