Word.ws English Dictionary

give someone the air

give someone the air verb: to jilt or ditch a lover.

Verb

give someone the air (third-person singular simple present gives someone the air, present participle giving someone the air, simple past gave someone the air, past participle given someone the air)

  1. (dated, slang) To jilt or ditch a lover.
    • “The slick-haired dame's give him the air!” he says.1927, Sunset, volume 59, page 64
    • Mrs. Mac turned back toward downtown and I said, "What do you mean my girl gave me the air? […]1946, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 218, page 24

Forms of give someone the air

third-person singular presentgives someone the air
present participlegiving someone the air
pastgave someone the air
past participlegiven someone the air

Questions about give someone the air

What does give someone the air mean?
Give someone the air means to jilt or ditch a lover.
What part of speech is give someone the air?
Give someone the air is a verb.
What is the past tense of give someone the air?
The past tense of give someone the air is gave someone the air.

Words near give someone the air in the dictionary

  1. give someone Jesse
  2. give someone Jessie
  3. give someone line
  4. give someone one
  5. give someone something to think about
  6. give someone the air
  7. give someone the arm
  8. give someone the bag
  9. give someone the boot
  10. give someone the brush-off
  11. give someone the business

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: give someone the air (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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