hot air

American  

noun

Informal.

1. empty, exaggerated, or pretentious talk or writing.

   His report on the company's progress was just so much hot air.

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hot air British  

noun

1. informal empty and usually boastful talk

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hot air Idioms  

1. Empty, exaggerated talk, as in That last speech of his was pure hot air. It is also put as full of hot air, as in Pay no attention to Howard—he's full of hot air. This metaphoric term transfers heated air to vaporous talk. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of hot air

1835–45 for literal sense

Example Sentences

Was it a prescient warning or a bunch of hot air?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

He recalled donning tuxedos and carrying toy guns pretending to be James Bond on a European yacht vacation and soaring over the Serengeti in a hot air balloon during an East African safari.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2026

In the summer, it can lead to droughts but also heatwaves as hot air is drawn in from the south-east.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Heat at the base of a continent can weaken and remove part of its dense root, making the continent lighter and more buoyant, like a hot air balloon rising after dropping its ballast.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2025

The sky, as if in sympathy with the great changes among them, was different today and so misty that in some places the hot air seemed white.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

Related Words

• wind