Airway

//ˈɛə.weɪ// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The trachea.

    "The burners on gas stoves release pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, a key element in smog that can irritate airways and may contribute to the development of asthma, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

  2. 2
    a commercial enterprise that provides scheduled flights for passengers wordnet
  3. 3
    A flight path used by aeroplanes.

    "But British Airways Flight 112 made the trek in under five hours, setting a new record for the fastest subsonic commercial flight across the Atlantic Ocean."

  4. 4
    a duct that provides ventilation (as in mines) wordnet
  5. 5
    A roadway used for ventilation.
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    the passages through which air enters and leaves the body wordnet
  2. 7
    a designated route followed by airplanes in flying from one airport to another wordnet

Example

More examples

"If you sleep on your back it's easier for your upper airway to be obstructed because your tongue, uvula, etc. slip towards the back of your throat."

Etymology

From air + way.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.