windbag

American  

[wind-bag] / ˈwɪndˌbæg /

noun

1. Also called bag of wind.  Informal. an empty, voluble, pretentious talker.

2. the bag of a bagpipe.

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windbag British  

/ ˈwɪndˌbæɡ /

noun

1. slang a voluble person who has little of interest to communicate

2. the bag in a set of bagpipes, which provides a continuous flow of air to the pipes

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Other Word Forms

• windbaggery noun

Etymology

Origin of windbag

A late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; wind ¹, bag

Explanation

If you find yourself stuck on a bus beside someone who talks endlessly about boring subjects, you might think to yourself, "What a windbag." It's an informal way to describe a big talker. The word windbag is a useful but derogatory way to talk about a boring chatterer. A windbag might gossip, or brag, or tell a long story — but in any case, nothing he says is interesting or useful information. The original fifteenth century meaning of windbag was "bellows for an organ," which was literally a bag of wind or air. By the early 1800s, it took on the metaphorical meaning of "person who talks too much."

Example Sentences

Every actor to incarnate Poirot has played him differently: Tony Randall’s screwball, Albert Finney’s brilliantined grouch and Peter Ustinov’s avuncular windbag made the Belgian a figure of fun.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2022

He knows which way the wind is blowing, and he will do his best to become a windbag that blows in that direction, whatever humiliating deflation is required first.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

Mark, with his many soliloquies about the beauty of neuro-marketing, comes across as a snooze-inducing windbag, while Claire is played largely as a caricature of a shallow art dealer.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2019

This windbag at a party about five years ago told me, very loudly, that I had written only one book; the rest are screenplays.

From The Guardian • Dec. 19, 2015

There were some who admired him and others who considered him a pompous windbag.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger