Idiom
dead air
Meaning
An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The DJ panicked when there was dead air for ten seconds.”
“During the live interview, technical problems caused thirty seconds of dead air before the host could continue.”
“The veteran broadcaster, mortified by the rare lapse that left his audience in dead air, apologized profusely once the feed was restored.”
Examples
simple
“The DJ panicked when there was dead air for ten seconds.”
contextual
“During the live interview, technical problems caused thirty seconds of dead air before the host could continue.”
complex
“The veteran broadcaster, mortified by the rare lapse that left his audience in dead air, apologized profusely once the feed was restored.”
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated