midair

• mid-air

From mid- +‎ air.

• (US) IPA^(key): /(ˈ)mɪdˈɛɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

midair (not comparable)

1. In the act of flight; airborne.
   • 1915, Life 1915-12-30: Volume 66, Issue 1731‎^[1], Time Incorporated, page 1273:

     Oh, can’t you?” The Manager paused in his midair flight and regarded the child anxiously. “ Well, if that’s the case,” he added at last, “ we can put you in the movies.”

   • 1946, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Wildlife in North Carolina‎^[2], N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission, page 28:

     Hawks, falcons and other raptors share traits that make them formidable hunters. Strong legs with talons can grab and hold their victims. Hooked bills can bite and tear at their prey. And keen eyes search far and wide for their next meal. Owls see well in the dark and hunt at night, but hawks and falcons are active during the day. These diurnal raptors share another trait: phenomenal flying ability. They can soar to great heights and fly at amazing speeds. Sharp shinned and Cooper's hawks dash through the woods after small birds, steering between tangled limbs with their rudder -like tails. Merlins — blue jay-sized falcons — accelerate so fast that they earned the nickname "bullet hawk." North America's smallest falcon, the kestrel, flies into the wind, beats its wings rapidly and hovers while scanning the ground for food. The champion fliers of all are peregrine falcons. When a soaring peregrine spots a meal on the wing, it folds its wings and dives for a midair strike. A peregrine's stoop often reaches 90 miles per hour.

   • 1983, J. D. Hardin, Heather‎^[3], Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 128:

     He eased his Stetson off his head with his left hand, clutching the ax handle in his right. Holding the hat by the brim, he flicked it toward the snake. The reptile buried its fangs into the crown of the hat in a midair strike that slapped the Stetson to the floorboards between them.

   • 1988, Dan D. Gapen, Wilderness North‎^[4], Whitewater Publications, →ISBN, page 240:

     As if in a midair strike, the caribou bull comes down to land upon the hunter. There is no escape. His bulk crashes down upon you. The wooden spear handle breaks and deeply scrapes your side.

   • 1996, Leslie Swan, Nintendo Player's Guides‎^[5], Nintendo, page 8:

     Press A while holding L or R (or simply hit Z) to grab your rival. When your enemy is in your clutches, the fighter won't be able to attack. Hit A or Z or press the Control Stick to attack your rival once he or she is in your grasp. The Control Stick will enable you to toss your rivals upward, which perfectly sets them up for you to perform a midair attack on them.

   • 1997, Nicholas Wade, The New York Times: Book of Birds‎^[6], Lyons Press, →ISBN, page 298:

     Equally at home on skyscrapers and bridges as they are on mountainside cliffs, peregrines have become celebrated denizens of New York City, where they have a steady food supply of pigeons, starlings and sparrows and no threat from predators like the great horned owl. While not quite faster than a speeding bullet, the peregrine is reputed to be nature’s most remarkable flying hunter, capable of diving at 200 miles an hour for a midair attack, knocking the prey out with its terrifying talons, then swooping down to catch the falling bird.

midair (countable and uncountable, plural midairs)

1. (uncountable) The condition of being airborne.

   The leaping dog spun around in midair.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day‎^[7], Penguin, published 2012:

     The rooms seemed to run on for blocks, stuffed with automata human and animal assembled and in pieces, disappearing-cabinets, tables that would float in midair and other trick furniture, Davenport figures with dark-rimmed eyes in sinister faces, lengths of perfect black velvet and multicolored silk brocade a-riot with Oriental scenes […]

2. (countable, aeronautics) A collision between two or more aerospace vehicles in flight.

• ramidi