airwaves
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of airwaves
1895–1900, for earlier sense; air 1 + waves (plural of wave )
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.
Steyer’s prolific spending has blanketed the airwaves with television ads and helped propel him near the top of an unsettled gubernatorial field in the polls.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
It took a few decades for advertising to take hold in radio—the first commercial didn’t go out over the airwaves until 1920—but it was tied to TV from the start.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
As the controversy circulated through the airwaves and pressure mounted for his dismissal, Platner refused to drop out of the race.
From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026
Prime Minister Boris Johnson being taken into intensive care after he was diagnosed with Covid was "one of the scariest" moments he had on the airwaves, he admitted.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
On the concert stage or over the airwaves, the transcendent quality of her voice touched her audiences deeply.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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.
