midair

[ mid-air ]

/ mɪdˈɛər /

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noun

any point in the air not contiguous with the earth or other solid surface: to catch a ball in midair.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of midair

First recorded in 1660–70; mid- + air¹

Words nearby midair

micrurgy, micturate, micturition, mid, midafternoon, midair, Midamerica, Midas, Midas touch, mid-Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use midair in a sentence

Her midair tricks such as “loop the loops” and the figure eight gained her a following rare for any woman, let alone a woman of color.
Space Exploration Is Hot. What Came Before?|Josefina Salomon|August 10, 2021|Ozy
For longer jumps, or those that necessitated landing higher or lower than the starting point, many squirrels rotated midair, using their legs to “jump” off an adjacent vertical wall in a parkour-style maneuver.
Squirrels use parkour tricks when leaping from branch to branch|Jonathan Lambert|August 5, 2021|Science News
The day of the accident, the company acknowledged on Facebook that one of its planes was involved in the fatal midair collision.
What We Know About Alaska’s Recent Series of Fatal Flight Collisions|by Zoë Sobel, KUCB, and Agnel Philip and Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica|June 16, 2021|ProPublica
Our finding that Alaska has seen a series of midair collisions involving commercial flights relied on the NTSB’s midair collision flag to identify those crashes.
How We Tallied Alaska Aviation Deaths|by Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Zoë Sobel, KUCB|June 16, 2021|ProPublica

Fatal midair collisions involving commercial aircraft are practically unheard of in the rest of the country, but in Alaska, there have been five in the past five years alone.
In Alaska, Commercial Aviation Is a Lifeline. The State Is Also Home to a Growing Share of the Country’s Deadly Crashes.|by Zoë Sobel, KUCB, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica|June 16, 2021|ProPublica
In contrast, drones cannot refuel in midair, conduct airdrops, or carry a meaningful amount of munitions.
Why Drones Don’t Cut It in Syria|Robert Caruso|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sociologists refer to this sort of in-midair rapid switch as risk compensation.
Ebola Might Be Sexually Transmitted|Kent Sepkowitz|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He said nothing as startling as he did in his last midair press conference last July when he said “Who am I to judge?”
Pope Francis Says He Might Retire|Barbie Latza Nadeau|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A traveler attempted to jump from their flight midair while another spat on fellow passengers in a fit of rage.
Plane-Related Incidents Reach New Level of Weird|Rachel Hochhauser|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dancers are suspended in midair like the cast of a ratchet Cirque du Soleil performance.
Rihanna Teaches Miley Cyrus How to Twerk in Sexy Video for ‘Pour It Up’|Amy Zimmerman|October 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The three men lounged in midair, grinning foolishly as they "swam" about the tiny cabin.
Tight Squeeze|Dean Charles Ing
For ten terrible seconds, while the man clung to wires and the mule hung trapped in midair, the other cable held.
Red Dynamite|Roy J. Snell
Nothing, humbug, a house hanging in midair, which will tumble down directly mankind pronounces three short words: I will not.
The Duel|A. I. Kuprin
The words trailed off softly and left the statement hanging interrogatively in midair.
Once to Every Man|Larry Evans
The retreat struck us as breathlessly as though we had been whirled by a wind-storm into midair on the afternoon of a summer day.
The Dark Forest|Hugh Walpole

British Dictionary definitions for midair

midair

/ (ˌmɪdˈɛə) /

noun

some point above ground level, in the air
(as modifier)a midair collision of aircraft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with midair

midair

see under leave hanging.