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• open air
  open air

  noun

  the outdoors.
• open-air
  open-air

  adjective

  existing in, taking place in, or characteristic of the open air; outdoor.

open air

¹ American  

noun

1. the outdoors.

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open-air ² American  

[oh-puhn-air] / ˈoʊ pənˈɛər /

adjective

1. existing in, taking place in, or characteristic of the open air; outdoor.

   The orchestra gave three open-air concerts last summer.

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open air British  

noun

1. 1. the place or space where the air is unenclosed; the outdoors

   2. ( as modifier )

      an open-air concert

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Other Word Forms

• open-airishness
  noun
• open-airness
  noun
• open-airish
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of open air¹

First recorded in 1520–30

Origin of open-air²

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

open air open-air

Moments after the final rapid-fire rhythm of Anthrax’s opening number “Caught in a Mosh” fades from the open air of the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., shaggy-headed vocalist Joey Belladonna addresses the audience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

In Cali, part of the Hospital Universitario del Valle collapsed during the quake, forcing doctors to move patients into a parking lot and treat some in the open air.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Unlike in 1986, when many of the artifacts, especially the elephant tusks, decomposed after being exposed to the open air, Ran improvised a new system for the dig.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

It was not as though the open air of a farmers market was going to cure my base shopping instincts.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

“You’re saying we ought not to go out into the open air? Man, every single part of me is aching to join the rest of the living universe again!”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

On the hillside above the shop is an open-air lunch area, its seating made from wooden bleachers salvaged from the old right-field pavilion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

Police are operating an office in an open-air courtyard to assist with body identification.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Today, the excavated base of the Templo Mayor, the step pyramid topped with altars to the Aztec gods of war and rain, is an open-air archaeological site.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Each fall, ArtPrize — one of the world’s largest international art competitions — transforms the entire downtown into an open-air gallery.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Strangers cheer the Grants’ open-air carriage on its way to the Willard Hotel, on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Fourteenth Street.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly