airbag

IPA/ˈeəbæɡ/
KK[ˈɛrbˌæɡ]IPA/ˈerbæɡ/

airbag — noun

  • airbagsingular
  • airbagsplural

1. a folded cushion built into the steering wheel, dashboard, or seat of a vehicle

1.nounB1
Definition

a folded cushion built into the steering wheel, dashboard, or seat of a vehicle that pops open and fills with gas the moment a crash happens, so that the driver and passengers do not hit the hard interior.

Example

Nikolai walked away from the crash because the driver's airbag opened in time.

subject of the verb 'open': airbag opened

The mechanic warned Bram that the airbag in his old van might not deploy properly.

collocation: airbag + deploy

Common collocations
  • driver's airbag
  • passenger airbag
  • side airbag
  • the airbag deployed
  • airbag failed to open
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

airbag + verb (deploy/inflate/go off)

the [position] airbag

Usage Note

Almost always countable and concrete. Subject of verbs like deploy, inflate, go off, open, save; object of disable, replace, recall. Position is named with prepositional phrase ('the airbag in the steering wheel') rather than with a compound noun.

Common Mistakes

The car has an air-bag for safe.
The car has an airbag for safety.
write as one word in modern usage, and use the noun 'safety', not the adjective 'safe'.
The airbag was exploded and saved him.
The airbag deployed and saved him.
use 'deploy' or 'go off', not 'explode', which suggests damage rather than protection.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three are passive safety features in a modern car, but they protect the occupant in different ways. A seatbelt holds you in place from the very start of the journey and stops you from being thrown forward in a crash; it works every second of the drive. An airbag is dormant until a sensor detects a sudden impact, and then it inflates within milliseconds to cushion the head and chest against the steering wheel or dashboard. A crumple zone is part of the car body itself, designed to fold and absorb energy so that less force reaches the cabin. In everyday speech, drivers say 'put your seatbelt on' before driving and 'the airbag saved my life' after a crash; engineers talk about 'crumple zones' in design reviews.

airbag ↗seatbeltcrumple zone

Common collocations

Nouns

  • airbag sensor
  • airbag system
  • airbag light
  • airbag recall
  • airbag warning

Adverbs

Phrases

  • the airbag deployed
  • the airbag failed to open
  • disable the airbag
  • airbag saved his life

Prepositions

  • airbag in (the steering wheel)
  • airbag for (the passenger)

Etymology

English

A modern compound formed in English in the late 1960s from 'air' + 'bag'. Early versions were tested by American carmakers in the 1970s and became standard equipment in many countries from the 1990s onward. The two words were first written separately ('air bag'), then with a hyphen ('air-bag'), and are now usually joined as a single word.