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
Avoid cigarette smoke and other airway irritants that can make coughing worse.
—
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 13 Apr. 2025
Inhaled silica dust particles travel down airways and into the smallest spaces of the lung, causing scarring and eventually difficulty breathing, often becoming so severe that a lung transplant might be the only solution to avoid death.
—Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2025
Breathing in specific triggers causes the airways in your lungs to tighten, resulting in an asthma attack.
—Susan Russell, Verywell Health, 8 Apr. 2025
After three weeks of infection, the drugs are unlikely to help because the body has cleared the bacteria, and the lingering cough is caused by airway damage.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airway
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 13 Apr. 2025
Inhaled silica dust particles travel down airways and into the smallest spaces of the lung, causing scarring and eventually difficulty breathing, often becoming so severe that a lung transplant might be the only solution to avoid death.
—Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2025
Breathing in specific triggers causes the airways in your lungs to tighten, resulting in an asthma attack.
—Susan Russell, Verywell Health, 8 Apr. 2025
After three weeks of infection, the drugs are unlikely to help because the body has cleared the bacteria, and the lingering cough is caused by airway damage.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for airway
Cite this Entry
“Airway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airway. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share