airsickness

IPA/ˈeəsɪknəs/
IPA/ˈersɪknəs/

airsickness — noun

1. a feeling of nausea and physical discomfort caused by the movement of an aircraf

1.nounB2
Definition

a feeling of nausea and physical discomfort caused by the movement of an aircraft during a flight, often leading to a need to vomit

Example

Theo felt a wave of airsickness when the small plane hit turbulence over the mountains.

collocation: felt a wave of airsickness

The flight attendant gave Yumi a sick bag and ginger candies to calm her airsickness.

collocation: calm her airsickness

Common collocations
  • feel airsickness
  • suffer from airsickness
  • get airsickness
  • prevent airsickness
  • calm airsickness
  • airsickness bag
  • airsickness medication
  • a wave of airsickness
Synonyms
  • motion sickness

    broader term that covers airsickness, carsickness, seasickness, etc.

  • travel sickness

    general term for motion-related nausea during any form of transport

Usage Note

Uncountable noun — not used with 'a' or in the plural. A person experiencing it 'has airsickness', 'suffers from airsickness', or 'gets airsick' (adjective form).

Common Mistakes

I have an airsickness.
I have airsickness.
airsickness is uncountable and does not take an article.

Word family

  • airsick
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Airsickness' is the most specific term in this group — it refers only to nausea and vomiting triggered by the motion of an aircraft. 'Motion sickness' is the broad medical term for the same physiological reaction caused by any type of movement (car, boat, plane, amusement-park ride). 'Travel sickness' overlaps heavily with motion sickness but tends to be used in everyday conversation rather than clinical settings. 'Nausea' is wider still — it describes the queasy stomach feeling itself and can have many causes (food poisoning, anxiety, pregnancy, illness). For example: 'She gets airsickness on every flight, so her doctor recommended a scopolamine patch.' vs. 'He never gets motion sickness on boats, only in cars.' vs. 'The smell of the cafeteria made her feel a wave of nausea.'

airsickness ↗motion sicknesstravel sicknessnausea ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • suffer from airsickness
  • prone to airsickness
  • a wave of airsickness

Etymology

LatinFrenchOld EnglishEnglish

A compound of 'air' (referring to aircraft travel, from Latin 'aer' via Old French) and 'sickness' (from Old English 'sēocnes', meaning the state of being ill). The term first appeared in the early 20th century alongside the growth of commercial aviation, modeled on the older word 'seasickness'.

First known use

1784

1784, in the meaning defined above