dead air
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of dead air
First recorded in 1940–45
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.
Instead, too many filmmakers took the crowd’s attention span for granted; even the strongest films in competition could delete a half-hour of dead air.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
It seeks to deliver a brisk 30-minute recap of the day’s headlines without any halting clauses, dropped prepositions, or dead air.
From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2026
"Even when there's a few moments of dead air here, people think, 'What's wrong?" laughs Ms Hagen.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2025
But the film’s scattershot writing leaves its punchlines hitting dead air before falling smack against the floor.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
“I’m not going. Can’t risk the time,” I said, but I was talking to dead air.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
