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
The airway bill was a duplicate of one used the previous day to pick up a shipment of seafood, Mavity said.
—
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
The founder of Storage Express donated a record-breaking $13.5 million to his Republican mayoral campaign and took over television and digital airways with campaign ads, but still lost the November election by 20 percentage points.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024
In a group that was not on a positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy — like what’s known as a CPAP machine — the medication reduced the average number of times a participants’s breathing showed a restricted or complete block of airflow by 27.4 events per hour (55%) from baseline after 52 weeks.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
The airway went silent, the body relaxed and there was something in the next moments that felt to him almost like peace.
—Eli Saslow Erin Schaff Eli Saslow, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Severe allergy cases can cause anaphylaxis, which may cause the throat to swell and block the airway.
—Anna Halkidis, Parents, 8 Feb. 2024
Where the throat met his chest, the quarter had turned and aligned vertically in his airway, allowing air to pass, but was stuck between his vocal cords and trachea, according to the case report.
—Irene Wright, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
In January, for example, the Food and Drug Administration disclosed that the agency is investigating reports of alopecia, a hair loss condition, and aspiration, a complication during surgery when people inhale food or other objects into their airway, linked to the drugs.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024
The foam used in the machines can break down, leading users to breathe chemicals or foam particles into their airways, the FDA said.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
The founder of Storage Express donated a record-breaking $13.5 million to his Republican mayoral campaign and took over television and digital airways with campaign ads, but still lost the November election by 20 percentage points.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024
In a group that was not on a positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy — like what’s known as a CPAP machine — the medication reduced the average number of times a participants’s breathing showed a restricted or complete block of airflow by 27.4 events per hour (55%) from baseline after 52 weeks.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
The airway went silent, the body relaxed and there was something in the next moments that felt to him almost like peace.
—Eli Saslow Erin Schaff Eli Saslow, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Severe allergy cases can cause anaphylaxis, which may cause the throat to swell and block the airway.
—Anna Halkidis, Parents, 8 Feb. 2024
Where the throat met his chest, the quarter had turned and aligned vertically in his airway, allowing air to pass, but was stuck between his vocal cords and trachea, according to the case report.
—Irene Wright, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
In January, for example, the Food and Drug Administration disclosed that the agency is investigating reports of alopecia, a hair loss condition, and aspiration, a complication during surgery when people inhale food or other objects into their airway, linked to the drugs.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024
The foam used in the machines can break down, leading users to breathe chemicals or foam particles into their airways, the FDA said.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near airway
Cite this Entry
“Airway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airway. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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
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