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air guitar

American  

noun

  1. an imaginary guitar that one pretends to be playing.

    a fan playing air guitar along with the band.


air guitar British  

noun

  1. an imaginary guitar played while miming to rock music

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of air guitar

First recorded in 1980–85

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.

"The co-presenter looked like she was having the time of her life playing air guitar and trading quips with a rubber turkey," the Telegraph's Ed Power wrote in his review of the first semi-final.

From BBC • May 11, 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

He’s sounding out metal-shredding noises with his mouth, while furiously playing the air guitar.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2022

It became an obsession, one that delighted him and made him dance and play air sax, air guitar and air banjo in his basement.

From New York Times • Sep. 30, 2022

He immediately begins playing air guitar and singing a song that I don’t know.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon

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