airway

[ air-wey ]

noun

1. an air route equipped with emergency landing fields, beacon lights, radio beams, etc.
2. a passageway by which air passes from the nose or mouth to the air sacs of the lungs.
3. Medicine/Medical. a tubelike device used to maintain adequate, unobstructed respiration, as during general anesthesia.
4. any passage in a mine used for purposes of ventilation; an air course.
5. airways,
   1. the band of frequencies, taken collectively, used by radio broadcasting stations:

      The news was sent out over the airways immediately.

   2. airwaves.
   3. airline ( def 1c ).

airway

/ ˈɛəˌweɪ /

noun

1. an air route, esp one that is fully equipped with emergency landing fields, navigational aids, etc
2. a passage for ventilation, esp in a mine
3. a passage down which air travels from the nose or mouth to the lungs
4. med a tubelike device inserted via the throat to keep open the airway of an unconscious patient

Word History and Origins

Origin of airway¹

First recorded in 1905–10; air ¹ + way ¹

Example Sentences

It can be fatal if, for example, the person’s airway swells shut, though deaths are rare.

From Fortune

Rush’s preteen daughter suffered from asthma and had to sleep with a continuous positive airway pressure machine, commonly known as a CPAP.

From Washington Post

With covid-19, the virus attaches to a receptor called ACE-2, which is common on airway and lung cells—the reason the disease causes problems with breathing.

From MIT Technology Review

Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, which opens your airway and allows you to bring more air into your lungs, Almeyda explains.

From Outside Online

Birds and people have different types of this protein in their upper airway, but pigs have both.

From Science News

This strain of enterovirus seems unusually provocative in irritating lower airways, thereby causing airway narrowing.

From The Daily Beast

Snoring is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, when your airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep.

From The Daily Beast

We cant get out this way, said Tom; well have to go up through the airway.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, with a glance at the sleeping boy, Come ye up the airway a bit.

From Project Gutenberg

If you are unable to obtain an effective airway, then the other procedures are to be of no avail.

From Project Gutenberg

The cuff is a small latex cuff which should prevent leakage of air around the tube, thus insuring an adequate airway.

From Project Gutenberg

This is a plastic tube which is inserted into the trachea, into the windpipe, to allow an adequate airway, adequate breathing.

From Project Gutenberg