the ether

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformalfigurative

   The invisible space through which radio, television or internet signals seem to travel, used for something sent out into the air without a clear place.

   Grammar: A fixed phrase with 'the', often after in or into: broadcast into the ether.

   Patterns

   • into the ether
   • out of the ether
   • in the ether

   The signal vanished into the ether when the satellite lost power.

   Her message was sent out into the ether, and nobody answered.

   Music from the old radio drifted through the ether.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasefigurative

   An unclear, imaginary place where things disappear or where ideas and rumors seem to float around.

   Grammar: Used with 'the' in the idiom 'disappear into the ether', or for something vague in the air: gossip was in the ether.

   Patterns

   • vanish into the ether
   • be in the ether

   My missing umbrella has vanished into the ether.

   Rumors of a merger were swirling in the ether all week.

   The old company records seem to have disappeared into the ether.

3. 3noununcountabletechnicalold-fashioned

   An invisible substance that scientists once believed filled all space and carried light, later shown not to exist.

   Grammar: Historical sense of ether, sometimes spelled aether; used with 'the' in older science writing.

   Patterns

   • the luminiferous ether

   Nineteenth-century physicists thought light waves needed the ether to travel through.

   An experiment in 1887 found no sign of the ether.

   Einstein's theory made the idea of the ether unnecessary.

Common combinations

disappear into the ether

The files seemed to disappear into the ether.

vanish into the ether

His promise vanished into the ether once the deal was done.

broadcast into the ether

The station broadcast its midnight show into the ether.

in the ether

The idea of a fresh election was already in the ether.

out of the ether

A call came out of the ether after months of silence.

Synonyms and how they differ

airwaves

Airwaves refers to the radio and TV channels broadcasts travel on, while the ether is vaguer and also covers things that just disappear.

thin air

Thin air is used mainly in 'vanish into thin air' for sudden disappearance, and it lacks the idea of a medium for signals.

cyberspace

Cyberspace names the online world specifically, whereas the ether can mean any unseen place where messages or things go.

nowhere

Nowhere is a plain word for no place at all, and the ether sounds more figurative and mysterious.

Word family

ether noun

a clear liquid once used to put patients to sleep, or the old idea of the invisible medium

ethereal adjective

extremely light and delicate, almost not of this world

etherize verb

to put to sleep with the chemical ether, an old-fashioned word

Commonly confused: the ether or either?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “the ether”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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