Word.ws English Dictionary

air quote

air quote noun: a typically two-handed gesture resembling quotation marks, indicating that the gesturer is speaking ironically or using unusual terminology.

air quote: a typically two-handed gesture resembling quotation marks, indicating that the gesturer is speaking...
Image: John Turing for Stichting Praemium Erasmianum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

air quote (plural air quotes)

  1. (plural-normally) A typically two-handed gesture resembling quotation marks, indicating that the gesturer is speaking ironically or using unusual terminology.
    • You could hear the air quotes around ‘chill’ when he said it.2020, Ben Aaronovitch, False Value, Gollancz, page 11
    Synonyms:
    finger quote
  2. (broadly, plural-normally) An emphatic tone of voice used to indicate a euphemism, or displeasure with a false or inaccurate phrase being quoted.
    • "So you were out with 'the boys'," she said vexedly, putting air quotes around the last two words.

Synonyms of air quote

Forms of air quote

pluralair quotes

Questions about air quote

What does air quote mean?
Air quote means a typically two-handed gesture resembling quotation marks, indicating that the gesturer is speaking ironically or using unusual terminology.
What part of speech is air quote?
Air quote is a noun.
What is the plural of air quote?
The plural of air quote is air quotes.

Words near air quote in the dictionary

  1. air pumps
  2. air punch
  3. air punches
  4. air purifier
  5. air purifiers
  6. air quote
  7. air quotes
  8. air rage
  9. air raid
  10. air raid siren
  11. air raid sirens

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: air quote (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.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “air quote.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/air_quote. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.