Gasbag
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A bag or bladder to hold a reservoir of gas, as in a hot-air balloon.
"In half an hour a good-sized gas-bag had been formed, and the jerking and straining upon the thongs showed that it was capable of considerable lift."
- 2 the bag containing the gas in a balloon wordnet
- 3 A lighter-than-air aircraft; a balloon or dirigible. broadly
- 4 a boring person who talks a great deal about uninteresting topics wordnet
- 5 A person who is overly garrulous or prone to making empty, unsupportable statements; a windbag. derogatory, figuratively
"Not that the Reverend James is absolutely a pretentious gasbag any more than Marchbanks is an inspired prophet. He has a definite, a positive part in the world's work."
- 1 To speak foolishly, pompously, or at length; to blather. informal, intransitive
""You're a swell at it. I'll allow that. And I'll provide the gas-bagging." / "The gas-bagging?" I inquired. "What exactly do you mean?" / "What do I mean, you dear old sober-sides?" said Lyne. “I mean that I will do all the bow-wowing[…]""
Example
More examples"In half an hour a good-sized gas-bag had been formed, and the jerking and straining upon the thongs showed that it was capable of considerable lift."
Etymology
From gas + bag.
Related phrases
More for "gasbag"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.