up in the air
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Unresolved.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Now the mix - up we had yesterday, er on a lot of aggro when I got about this dust extract system one line three.
Because you know what, they're up in the air aren't they?
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “up in the air” mean?
Unresolved.
Is “up in the air” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.