Synonyms

up in the air

Idioms

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.

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.

See Examples For:

up in the air

Still, how this plays out is up in the air.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The makeup of HD 3167 b's atmosphere is still up in the air.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Friday morning’s print makes a good case that a rate increase at the Fed’s October meeting is off the table, Cox said, and that a December hike is also up in the air.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Teasdale says "everything went up in the air" as a professional, in contrast to the stability of his early years.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

He pops a lacrosse ball straight up in the air.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023