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.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry apologized on Sunday after a drone entered Lithuania's airspace, prompting authorities to issue an air raid warning. — Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026 Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace near some of Ukraine's Danube ports. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 The latest attacks this week occurred within 24 hours between October 14 and October 15, when the two chemical tankers were set afire after Russian drones were detected in Romanian airspace, according to Deutsche Welle. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 For air cargo moving through the same airports and airspace, the warnings carry direct routing implications. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 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 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on airspace

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about airspace

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All