airs
Britishplural noun
Explanation
To have airs is to be condescending or arrogant — in other words, to act like you think you're better than other people. If you put on airs, you'll find it hard to make friends. It's most common to find the word airs in the phrase "to put on airs." This basically means to act snobbish or stuck up. Someone who puts on airs is extremely annoying to everyone around him, clearly pretentious and mannered in his attitude. The phrase has been around since the 1780s, and it comes from the French air, "look, appearance, bearing, or tone."
Vocabulary lists containing airs
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.
These tentpole events are in addition to some of the weekly live programming Netflix offers, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” which airs every Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The series finale of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs at 11:35 p.m.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
It moved to the Welsh-language channel S4C in 1982, where it currently airs three times a week.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
Reality-show roles don’t automatically mean big social followings any more—even when your season actually airs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
I’m sure there will be an even bigger party when my episode airs, she told herself.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
