up in the air

Idioms  

1. Not settled, uncertain, as in The proposal to build a golf course next to the airport is still up in the air. This metaphoric expression likens something floating in the air to an unsettled matter. Put as in the air from the mid-1700s, it acquired up in the first half of the 1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

up in the air

But, with the date of his next pitching start up in the air, his bullpen session still drew a lot of eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

“A lot is up in the air right now,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

"Your whole life gets thrown up in the air," she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

She scoops an unamused cat up in the air and, with the first sign of emotion, says, “I love you.”

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

He tried to move, then was jerked back a second time as the car was yanked off the ground and tilted high up in the air.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz