air pocket
Americannoun
noun
-
a localized region of low air density or a descending air current, causing an aircraft to suffer an abrupt decrease in height
-
any pocket of air that prevents the flow of a liquid or gas, as in a pipe
Etymology
Origin of air pocket
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
The cylinder will be placed inside a metallic bell that leaves an air pocket that is supposed to keep moisture out of the inner chamber.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Whenever the message left the faithful underwhelmed, the stocks hit an air pocket and fell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
After several hours trapped in the air pocket, the dive guide, Youssef, wanted to try to swim through the boat, but Lucianna and Christophe persuaded him not to.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2025
Somehow, before his arms became completely sealed up in snow, he punched a small air pocket in front of his face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
The plane bounced hard inside an air pocket, and he remembered with a start that he had left his own parachute up front in the nose.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
