hot air

American  

noun

Informal.

1. empty, exaggerated, or pretentious talk or writing.

   His report on the company's progress was just so much hot air.

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hot air British  

noun

1. informal empty and usually boastful talk

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hot air Idioms  

1. Empty, exaggerated talk, as in That last speech of his was pure hot air. It is also put as full of hot air, as in Pay no attention to Howard—he's full of hot air. This metaphoric term transfers heated air to vaporous talk. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of hot air

1835–45 for literal sense

Example Sentences

A heat dome occurs when a large area of high pressure traps hot air near the ground, allowing temperatures to build over several days.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026

Because the system is on the outside, it is finding it hard to expel that hot air.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

The side effects from a big increase in air conditioning are considered to be large: The devices are costly; they are energy hungry; and they eject hot air into the street, warming cities even more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Seal up air leaks: Inexpensive weatherstripping and caulking around leaky doors and windows stop hot air from seeping in and forcing your AC to run longer.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026

A flooding sea of hot air; it seemed as if someone had left a bakery door open.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

Related Words

• wind