airspace

noun

air·​space ˈer-ˌspās How to pronounce airspace (audio)
: the space lying above the earth or above a certain area of land or water
especially : the space lying above a nation and coming under its jurisdiction

Examples of airspace in a Sentence

seeking permission to fly through U.S. airspace
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The result was that both planes briefly shared the same airspace before the arriving flight landed. — ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026 After the incident, Finland temporarily restricted airspace and a sea area in the eastern Gulf of Finland early Friday as a precaution. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026 The deadly crash increased scrutiny of how helicopters are allowed to fly in the Washington DC airspace. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 Iranian missiles were intercepted over Turkish airspace earlier this year. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for airspace

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airspace was in 1911

Rhymes for airspace

See All Rhymes for airspace

Browse Nearby Words

air sleeve
airspace
airspace reservation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Airspace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airspace. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on airspace

Nglish: Translation of airspace for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about airspace

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All