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Synonyms

airhead

1 American  
[air-hed] / ˈɛərˌhɛd /

noun

  1. Slang. a scatterbrained, stupid, or simple-minded person; dolt.

    Even though she's crazy about surfing, she's not the bikini-babe airhead you might think.
airhead 2 American  
[air-hed] / ˈɛərˌhɛd /

noun

  1. an area in enemy territory or in threatened friendly territory, seized by airborne troops for bringing in supplies and additional troops by airdrop or landing.

airhead 1 British  
/ ˈɛəˌhɛd /

noun

  1. military an area secured in hostile territory, used as a base for the supply and evacuation of troops and equipment by air

"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
airhead 2 British  
/ ˈɛəˌhɛd /

noun

  1. slang a stupid or simple-minded person; idiot

"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

Etymology

Origin of airhead1

First recorded probably earlier than 1975–80; air 1 + head

Origin of airhead2

air 1 + (beach)head

Explanation

An airhead is a silly, foolish person. If your friend spends fifteen minutes searching for her lost sunglasses, only to find them on top of her head, you can call her an airhead. While the most popular meaning of airhead is "scatterbrain" or "dingbat," the formal definition of this noun is quite different. Airhead is a military term for a base inside hostile territory where supplies and troops can be kept, and from where soldiers can more safely fly in and out of the area. This 1950s-era meaning comes from the form of the military term beachhead — the slang term is from the 1970s.

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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.

On a recent Friday afternoon, at the Que Rico Pica stand, the 32-year-old poured a secret sauce over dozens of red, white and blue Airhead Bites candies.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2021

Families slept on bedding made from connected, uncut sheets of Chips Ahoy and Airhead candy wrappers, which are printed for import in a nearby factory.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2014

A version of this review appears in print on April 4, 2014, on page C6 of the with the headline: Broadcast News: British Airhead Still Has a Platform.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2014

It’s Clotilde’s little girl that nicknames George “Bel Ami,” loosely translated in this case to, That Hot Airhead.

From Time • Jun. 7, 2012

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.