airhead

1 of 2

noun (1)

air·​head ˈer-ˌhed How to pronounce airhead (audio)
: an area in hostile territory secured usually by airborne troops for further use in bringing in troops and matériel by air

airhead

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a mindless or stupid person
airheaded adjective

Examples of airhead in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On Watch What Happens Live Tuesday, Tisdale was asked about going out for the role of Karen Smith, the lovable airhead eventually played by Amanda Seyfried. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2024 See, most trolls are like Poppy, psychotically happy, boundlessly optimistic airheads who spend their every waking hour hugging, singing, laughing, and tripping the light fantastic under a really big groovy disco ball. Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 And ever since, the epithet has become synonymous with a stereotype of deeply annoying airheads from Southern California. Clarissa Wei, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2023 A lot of our play plotlines involved making Barbie the scapegoat for everything that went wrong, or casting her as an airhead, or marrying her to Strawberry Shortcake’s evil nemesis, the Purple Pieman. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2023 The cast balances out the requisite airhead (Busy Philipps), delusional diva (standout Renée Elise Goldsberry), and actually-aging outlier (Paul Pell) with real-life recording artist Sara Bareilles’ charming straight-woman performance as a regular mom belatedly coming into her own as a songwriter. Time, 12 Oct. 2022 Colón, whose Lulu might be a sort of airhead who lies to keep her man, lends the character an endearing transparency and warmth. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 19 Dec. 2022 In America, the airhead and the sphinx are often one and the same. Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 Apr. 2022 But also anyone who tuned in to watch Molly Shannon skewer her as an airhead on the SNL cold-open. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airhead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

air entry 1 + -head (as in beachhead)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1943, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airhead was circa 1943

Dictionary Entries Near airhead

Cite this Entry

“Airhead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airhead. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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