exhale
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to emit breath or vapor; breathe out.
-
to pass off as vapor; pass off as an effluence.
verb (used with object)
-
to breathe out; emit (air, vapor, sound, etc.).
to exhale a sigh.
-
to give off as vapor.
The engine exhaled steam.
-
to draw out as a vapor or effluence; evaporate.
verb
-
to expel (breath, tobacco smoke, etc) from the lungs; breathe out
-
to give off (air, vapour, fumes, etc) or (of air, vapour, etc) to be given off; emanate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exhalesimple
-
exhalessimple
-
have exhaledperfect
-
has exhaledperfect
-
am exhalingprogressive
-
are exhalingprogressive
-
is exhalingprogressive
-
have been exhalingperfect progressive
-
has been exhalingperfect progressive
Past
-
exhaledsimple
-
had exhaledperfect
-
was exhalingprogressive
-
were exhalingprogressive
-
had been exhalingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exhale
1350–1400; Middle English exalen < Latin exhālāre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + hālāre to breathe
Explanation
When you breathe, you inhale and exhale. In other words, you breathe in and out. When you breathe out, you exhale. If you exhale on a cold winter day, your breath looks like smoke in the frigid air. Yoga classes, with their emphasis on breathing, involve a lot of inhaling and exhaling. When you exhale, your lungs push air out, reducing the carbon dioxide in your body and making room for you to inhale oxygen. The Latin root exhalare combines ex, "out," and halare, "breathe."
Vocabulary lists containing exhale
Power Prefix: ex-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Landry News
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Flying to the Moon
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
More impressively, Melton manages to exhale a puff of smoke so thick that cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck can still see it through the set’s fog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Bright, airy and modern, it feels designed to help guests exhale the moment they walk through the door.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
The fall in oil prices on Tuesday has given traders a moment to "exhale", but energy markets remain in a state of "total tug-of-war", said Alberto Bellorin from oil and gas investment firm InterCapital Energy.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
For many Americans, retirement is supposed to be a financial exhale.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
He sighed, the sharp exhale like the hiss of the plants all around.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
"Cong phew!" exhales the Sun after "Hero Harry" comes "to the rescue".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
When it’s over, Parillo, whose nom de guerre in the competition is Velvet Milkman, exhales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Her husband Yitzhak, tense throughout, finally exhales, then explains that the couple will wait a week before choosing a name.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
When you whisk that nutty, toffee-adjacent warmth into the mix, especially alongside fruit and a streak of citrus zest, the entire batter exhales.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
She looks around and exhales in deep disappointment, signs the ticket and takes Dee out the front door without a word to her.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
“American Patriarch” is a tonic reminder that, from its very beginnings, our republic has exhaled a whiff of the miraculous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
She added: "I sobbed for hours and then exhaled for the first time in a year."
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
We survived it, yet hadn’t fully exhaled when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived like a cosmic reminder of how life loves a dramatic arc.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Patients with asthma, a comorbid disease that frequently occurs along with atopic dermatitis, showed a median 56% reduction in fractional exhaled nitric oxide, a measure of airway inflammation.
From Barron's ● Dec. 8, 2025
Jam exhaled in relief, the tight knot of worry in her chest loosening a little but not entirely.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
As the vessel neared the island—and Rhodes lost her ball cap in the wind—an app on the laptop she cradled lit up with digital WhaleSpotter images of whales exhaling, called “blows.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
By late afternoon, most test-takers walk out of school gates, exhaling with relief and embracing the family members waiting outside.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
“I pulled almost an all-nighter last night, so he’s been keeping us up,” he said, exhaling a light chuckle.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2025
“He’ll probably start,” Roberts said, exhaling after a wild night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2024
She went over and pressed into him, exhaling into his shoulder.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
