airbag

nounB1+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,253 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: airbags

An airbag is a bag that inflates instantly to cushion a crash. The airbag deployed, a side airbag, airbag warning light.

It fills in about thirty milliseconds and is already deflating by the time you meet it, which is the design: it is meant to slow you down, not to bounce you back. It only works with a seatbelt, and it can injure anybody sitting too close.

Definitions of airbag

1nounairbagA bag that inflates instantly to cushion a crash.B1+
“The airbag burst open when the car hit the wall, and the driver walked away unhurt.”

airbag is a safety device.

Where it comes from

Air plus bag. The first patents date from the 1950s and fitting became compulsory decades later.

From air + bag.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Vehicles & Machines

Practise this word

airbag in the wild

The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision.
Airbag
During a crash, the vehicle's crash sensors provide crucial information to the airbag electronic controller unit (ECU), including collision type, angle, and severity of impact.
Airbag
An airbag is a device designed to inflate rapidly in a collision.
Airbag (disambiguation)
As of January 2024, over 100 million airbag inflators worldwide have been recalled by more than 20 carmakers.
Takata Corporation
Airbag vests initially found popularity among equestrian competitors, and airbags have become mandatory in professional motorcycle racing.
Air bag vest

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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