Word.ws English Dictionary

air-head

/ˈɛːhɛd/US/ˈɛɹˌ(h)ɛd/

air-head noun: a horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.

Noun

air-head (plural air-heads)

  1. (archaic) A horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.
    • A narrow gallery, termed the air-head, is carried in the upper part of the coal, in the rib walls, along one or more of the sides. In the example here figured, it is carried all round, and the air enters at the bolt-hole e. Lateral openings, named spouts, are led from the air-head gallery into the...1839, Andrew Ure, “PITCOAL”, in A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines: Containing a Clear Exposition of Their Principles and Practice, London: Printed [by A[ndrew] Spottiswoode] for Longman...
    • [T]he method introduced by Mr. [Benjamin] Gibbons in Staffordshire of exhausting the foul air, by air-heads cut in the lop of the coal, connected with a channel in the side of the shaft, terminating in a chimney on the surface, was received as a decided improvement upon the ordinary system in use...1847 April 17, “Institution of Civil Engineers”, in The Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., number 1578, London: Printed by Henry Silverlock, […]; published for the...

Forms of air-head

pluralair-heads
alternative formairhead

Origin of air-head

From air + head.

Questions about air-head

What does air-head mean?
Air-head means a horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.
What part of speech is air-head?
Air-head is a noun.
How do you pronounce air-head?
Air-head is pronounced /ˈɛːhɛd/ (UK).
What is the plural of air-head?
The plural of air-head is air-heads.

Words near air-head in the dictionary

  1. air-guitared
  2. air-guitaring
  3. air-guitars
  4. air-gun
  5. air-guns
  6. air-head
  7. air-headed
  8. air-heads
  9. air-heater
  10. air-heaters
  11. air-hose

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: air-head (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-airhead.wav.

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