Air or heir?
air is a noun meaning “The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen…”; heir is a noun meaning “Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another”. They sound the same (/ˈɛə̯/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) air is about 30 times as common as heir.
What is the difference between air and heir?
| air | heir | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective | noun, verb |
| Meaning | The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases The substance of the atmosphere seen as an agency of freshness To bring (something) into contact with the air, so as to freshen or dry it | Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office To inherit |
| Example | This drill runs on compressed air | My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it |
| Forms | airs | heirs |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛə̯/ [ˈɛə̯] /ˈɛː/ | /ˈɛə̯/ [ˈɛə̯] /ˈɜː/ |
| In writing | 234 times per million words | 7.8 times per million words |
Sources: air and heir in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of air and heir
air
- 1
The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases
This drill runs on compressed air
- 2
To bring (something) into contact with the air, so as to freshen or dry it
I'll hang these clothes on the rack to air them
- 3
Pronunciation spelling of are
- 4
Pronunciation spelling of hair
- 5
The substance of the atmosphere seen as an agency of freshness
I'm going outside to get some air
- 6
To let fresh air into (a room or a building), to ventilate
It's getting quite stuffy in this room: let's open the windows and air it
- 7
One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans
- 8
To make public (an opinion, concern, issue, secret, differences, etc); to present to public view (and sometimes discussion)
Residents used the public meeting to air their concerns about the poor state of the roads
heir
- 1
Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another
My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it
- 2
To inherit
[…] Leonard Houtz & John Myer to be executors to this my last will & testament & lastly my children shall heir equally, one as much as the other
- 3
One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office
As the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales is a very public figure
- 4
A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, air or heir?
air appears 234 times per million words; heir 7.8 times per million words.
air 234 times per million wordsheir 7.8 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).