air kiss

American

noun

a pursing of the lips in a pretended kiss, as when parting on the telephone or touching cheeks in greeting.

air kiss British

noun

a kissing gesture, esp one directed towards a person's cheeck, made without making physical contact

"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

verb

to make such a gesture towards a person

"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

Etymology

Origin of air kiss

First recorded in 1985–90

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.

See Examples For:

air kiss

The couple settled on an air kiss instead.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025

Some colleagues patted Cawthorn’s back and shook his hand before quickly stepping past him in that distinctly Washington version of the air kiss.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2022

She smiled, assuming I recognized her, leaned in for an air kiss and said "hi there, sweetie" in her signature coo.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2020

She mastered the Cuban greeting — an air kiss doled out as abundantly as, well, air, even if you just met the person.

From New York Times ● Oct. 3, 2016

“Good boy,” she said, and gave me an air kiss.

From "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023