1
: a passage for a current of air (as in a mine or to the lungs)
2
: a designated route along which airplanes fly from airport to airport
especially
: such a route equipped with navigational aids
3
: airline
4
: a channel of a designated radio frequency for broadcasting or other radio communication
Examples of airway in a Sentence
a patient with a partially blocked airway
Recent Examples on the Web
This risk is greater for children because of their narrower airways.
—
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 12 Nov. 2025
Her son knew both James, a Federal Aviation Administration airway transportation systems specialist and mother of four, and her husband, an air traffic controller, weren’t receiving paychecks during the government shutdown.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
The next step was a bronchoscopy, a medical procedure that closely examines the airways of the lungs.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025
Sebastian has now spent more than a month in a hospital, receiving skin grafts for his burns and surgeries to treat a swollen and narrowed airway, his father, Omar Reynoso, said in an interview this week.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airway
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 12 Nov. 2025
Her son knew both James, a Federal Aviation Administration airway transportation systems specialist and mother of four, and her husband, an air traffic controller, weren’t receiving paychecks during the government shutdown.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
The next step was a bronchoscopy, a medical procedure that closely examines the airways of the lungs.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025
Sebastian has now spent more than a month in a hospital, receiving skin grafts for his burns and surgeries to treat a swollen and narrowed airway, his father, Omar Reynoso, said in an interview this week.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airway
Cite this Entry
“Airway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airway. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
airway
noun
air·way
-ˌwā 
: a passageway for air into or out of the lungs
specifically
: a device passed into the trachea by way of the mouth or nose or through an incision to maintain a clear respiratory passageway (as during anesthesia, convulsions, or in obstructive laryngitis) see upper airway
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share