airwaves

American  

[air-weyvz] / ˈɛərˌweɪvz /

plural noun

1. the media of radio and television broadcasting.

   The airwaves were filled with news flashes about the crisis.

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airwaves British  

/ ˈɛəˌweɪvz /

plural noun

1. informal radio waves used in radio and television broadcasting

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Etymology

Origin of airwaves

1895–1900, for earlier sense; air ¹ + waves (plural of wave )

Example Sentences

There was a rich businessman whose free-spending ad blitz made him inescapable on the airwaves.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

The billionaire funded Stratton’s super PAC and made himself the face of many of her ads, allowing her to catch up against Krishnamoorthi after he’d had the airwaves to himself for months.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

But the security forces are working to make their presence felt on the ground and over the airwaves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Over the weekend, Graham took to the airwaves and agreed, making Buck Turgidson look like Mahatma Gandhi by comparison.

From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026

They sit in the dark, the small flat lit only by the dim amber light of the radio, and listen to the British voices pulsing across the crackling airwaves.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti