airbag

American  

[air-bag] / ˈɛərˌbæg /

Or air bag

noun

• airbags
  plural

1. a bag mounted in the interior of a motor vehicle, cushioning the seat occupant by inflating automatically in the event of collision.

2. a very large inflatable safety or cushioning device, as to protect a spacecraft during a landing.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• airbags
  plural

Etymology

Origin of airbag

First recorded in 1965–70; air ¹ ( def. ) + bag ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

airbag airbags

Sure, you could argue that had the crash been worse, the airbag would have been deployed, resulting in another $1,000 in costs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Deployment doesn’t just unleash the airbag; it also deploys the car’s supplemental restraint system, the entire airbag system.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

DNA traces were discovered on the airbag – and became the conclusive proof that Challis was at the wheel at the time of the crash.

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025

The windshield was smashed, while remnants of a deployed airbag hung out the driver’s side window.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025

Akira pushed her airbag out of the way.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

“The reason that I’m not dead, honestly, is the car that we were driving,” she continued in her update, adding that 360-degree airbags in the “tiny Kia” she was riding in saved their lives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Fortunately, the airbags didn’t deploy, and as far as we can tell, that’s the extent of the visible damage.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Autoliv stock jumps after the maker of airbags and seatbelts backs its full-year guidance.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

The authors add that bringing spacecraft and space stations safely back to Earth for reuse would require better recovery systems, including technologies such as parachutes and airbags.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025

Its airbags had gone off too, and she couldn’t see inside.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz