air kissn.
/ˈɛː kɪs/, U.S. /ˈɛr ˌkɪs/ Originally U.S.
A gesture (usually of greeting or farewell) consisting of a kissing motion or sound made without the lips touching the recipient, but frequently while touching cheeks.Sometimes with the connotation that such a gesture implies insincerity or affectation.
ΚΠ
1887 Chicago Tribune 19 Nov. 16/1 The minister's wife..knows where a kiss will do the least harm, and her favorite method is an air kiss, with the gentle pressure of her cheek to your cheek.
1986 Los Angeles Times 27 Feb. ii. 15/3 Mike..went through his Stanislavsky paces for cameramen, waving, leaping, barking, and giving a Hollywood air-kiss to his host.
1997 Newsday (N.Y.) (Nexis) 6 Nov. b3 Los Angeles, a town where pretty people regularly blow air-kisses across plates of pretty food.
2000 Spectator (Electronic ed.) 2 Dec. 71 The women, on the whole, posed fewer problems, though several of them left lipstick marks on my cheeks instead of opting for the standard air kiss.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1887