air pocket

American  

noun

1. (not in technical use) a nearly vertical air current that can cause an aircraft to experience a sudden change in altitude, usually a decrease.

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air pocket British  

noun

1. a localized region of low air density or a descending air current, causing an aircraft to suffer an abrupt decrease in height

2. any pocket of air that prevents the flow of a liquid or gas, as in a pipe

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Etymology

Origin of air pocket

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

In total, five people from the Sea Story were rescued by divers, including a Swiss man and a Finnish woman who had survived in another air pocket inside their cabin on the lower deck.

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

“Whether it is stabler than we thought, or we just haven’t hit the air pocket yet, I don’t know,” he said.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

The air pocket will cause the area to reach negative temperatures comparable only to Siberia, as one excited meteorologist put it.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2023

“She won’t. I’m sure of that. She’s at that falls right now, climbing up a cascade or sitting in an air pocket under an overshoot.”

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George