airbag

plural airbags · alternative air-bag · alternative air bag

1. automotiveA protective system in automobiles in which when a crash occurs, a bag containing nitrogen, formed by the explosive decomposition of sodium azide, quickly inflates in front of the driver or passenger, preventing injury to the head. Side air bags, including the back seat passengers, also prevent injury.

   In a fast German car / I'm amazed that I survived / An airbag saved my life

   1997, “Airbag”, in OK Computer, performed by Radiohead

   1 more example

   However, the challenges for the railway world are much greater than for automotive as we generally have more occupants, higher speeds, greater masses, higher energies, and an absence of seatbelts or airbags to contend with.

   2021 December 29, Dominique Louis, “Causal analysis: crashworthiness at Sandilands”, in RAIL, number 947, page 32

2. A similar inflated bag used in performing stunts, or for lifting objects in firefighting, etc.

   As part of a scene in a movie, a stuntman falls from the top of a 95-foot-tall building into a large airbag directly below him on the ground, as shown in Figure 15-3.

   2005, Alan Tussy, R. Gustafson, Developmental Mathematics for College Students, page 1030

3. slangA person who talks too much; a windbag or gossip.