give someone the air

verb

To jilt or ditch a lover.

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Meanings

verbgive 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)

present singular third person gives someone the air · participle present giving someone the air · past gave someone the air · participle past given someone the air

  1. datedslangTo jilt or ditch a lover.

    “The slick-haired dame's give him the air!” he says.

    1927, Sunset, volume 59, page 64
    2 more examples

    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

    Soon, you might think, a lone figure dressed in tails and a top-hat — Fred Astaire, or maybe Gene Kelly — would appear and dance his way from one of those spots to the next, singing about how lonely a fellow could be when his best girl had given him the air and all the bars were closed.

    1991, Stephen King, Needful Things
Cite this entry
APA

give someone the air. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20the%20air

MLA

“give someone the air.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20the%20air. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “give someone the air,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20someone%20the%20air.

Source: give someone the air on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.