Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

off the air

Idioms  

  1. Not being broadcast, as in Once they knew they were off the air, the panelists burst out laughing. This idiom, along with the antonym on the air (“being broadcast”), dates from the 1920s, air being considered a medium for radio-wave transmission.

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.

“Seinfeld” went off the air 28 years ago, but its cultural relevance has endured as reruns draw new generations of fans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The show was later restored after a week off the air.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

Kimmel's show was taken off the air but returned six days later.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Anatel said Rumble should again be off the air in a few days.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

At television stations, which normally went off the air overnight, executives considered the radical idea of broadcasting news twenty-four hours a day.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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.