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

• air guitarist
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of air guitar

First recorded in 1980–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

air guitar

Staff and residents follow along with moves like the steering wheel, air guitar and shooting the basketball.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

Behind her, people follow her moves in joyously chaotic ways — some burst into air guitar solos, while others let out the occasional primal scream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2022

This included bending over a lot and sort of like playing air guitar.

From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling

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