aeroir

A1E1R1O1I1R1

noun

The taste or flavor of the air associated with a particular place or environment.

Scrabble 6

Meanings

nounaeroir (countable and uncountable, plural aeroirs)

plural aeroirs

  1. countableneologismuncountableThe taste or flavor of the air associated with a particular place or environment.

    The Smog Tasting project is part of a larger body of research into "aeroir" […]

    2016 November 16, Nina Levent, Irina D. Mihalache, “Last Course of the Volume”, in Food and Museums, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 348
    5 more examples

    Each city, region and country has a specific Aeroir, or combination of potentially harmful elements, such as hydrocarbons, soot or sulfur.

    2015 November 23, Jeffrey Edalatpour, “Smog-Infused Meringues and Tacos Tell the Truth about the Air We Eat”, in KQED, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2022

    142. A set of three smog meringues that capture the different aeroirs of Chicago. [30 non-toxic points]

    2018 May 9, “The 2018 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt List”, in The University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2022

    Her research made us wonder: is street food so spicy and boldy flavoured in order to make up for the aeroir in which is it served, like a kind of anti-smog seasoning?

    2018 July 1, Nicola Twilley, “Exploring Aeroir, or the Atmospheric Taste of Place”, in Food and Landscape: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2017, Prospect Books, →ISBN, page 55

    Since then, the project has grown to include a range of methods for sensing, analysing and evaluating the unique atmospheric taste of a place—or "aeroir".

    2020 November 23, Satarupa Paul, “Here's What Air Pollution Tastes Like, According to Two Artists”, in VICE, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2021

    For example, we rolled out a Smog Synthesizer, which simulates "aeroir," the smell and flavor of air pollution from various places and times.

    2020 November 24, Cathrine Kramer, Emma Conley, Zack Denfeld, “Unhinged, Bonkers, and Delicious”, in NEO.LIFE, archived from the original on 06 Jul 2022

Origin

From aero- + terroir (“the complete set of local conditions in which a particular wine or family of wines is produced”). Coined by American freelance writer Nicola Twilley working with the Center for Genomic Gastronomy at or before 2015.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

aeroir. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeroir

MLA

“aeroir.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeroir. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aeroir,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeroir.

Source: aeroir on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.