perspire
Americanverb (used without object)
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perspires,
present (3rd person singular)
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perspired,
past participle, past
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perspiring
present participle
verb (used with object)
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perspires,
present (3rd person singular)
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perspired,
past participle, past
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perspiring
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perspirabilitynoun
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perspirableadjective
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perspiryadjective
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unperspiredadjective
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unperspiringadjective
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perspiringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perspiresimple
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perspiressimple
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have perspiredperfect
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has perspiredperfect
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am perspiringprogressive
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are perspiringprogressive
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is perspiringprogressive
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have been perspiringperfect progressive
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has been perspiringperfect progressive
Past
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perspiredsimple
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had perspiredperfect
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was perspiringprogressive
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were perspiringprogressive
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had been perspiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perspire
1640–50; < Latin perspīrāre to blow constantly (said of the wind), breathe through; in New Latin: to sweat imperceptibly. See per-, inspire
Explanation
To perspire is to sweat: to excrete perspiration through the pores in your skin. Whenever little drops of moisture appear on your skin, you're perspiring or sweating. People sweat when they're nervous, when it's hot out, and when they're doing a lot of exercise. If you watch people playing a strenuous sport like basketball, they will be perspiring. Perspiring is one way your body cools itself off, so sweating is a good thing, even though it can make you feel gross. Some animals — like dogs — can't perspire, so it's harder for them to cool off.
Vocabulary lists containing perspire
"Marionettes, Inc." by Ray Bradbury
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Novel Study: Fahrenheit 451, Part II
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The Fighting Ground
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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:
Your nose will perspire and you will feel compelled to touch it.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
When you perspire, the sweat on your skin can pull heat from your body as it evaporates.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2023
And he said, ‘Coach, quarterbacks don’t sweat. Quarterbacks perspire.’
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
But Andrew said that he wasn’t able, at that time, to perspire.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2019
In the desert, the faster you perspire, the quicker you die, if you don’t have anything to drink.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
But nearly everything about Charlie — the sound of his breathing, the way he eats, moves and perspires — underlines his abjection, to an extent that starts to feel cruel and voyeuristic.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
He walks five miles every day for exercise and perspires a great deal, but he doesn’t change his shirt.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
Runny Rampling shamelessly perspires like some sort of gruesome mutant.”
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2016
Short and plump, Agarwal perspires in the late spring heat.
From Forbes ● Jul. 2, 2014
Once inside the train he perspires heavily and takes off his coat.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
The beleaguered bride, in her dress, perspired through her makeup on a warm afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
He recalls that Cash, out of his element as an actor, perspired so much out of nervousness that Ron got soaking wet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
But I perspired on them so much that the metal inside was totally rusted and started to smell.
From The Verge ● Oct. 15, 2017
What the researchers found was that the fit men, unsurprisingly, perspired the most, significantly more than the fit women, especially during the more intense exercise.
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2010
On days seven through eleven, I perspired a lot.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
They do not sweat like humans – only perspiring a small amount through the pads on their paws, with their often thick fur coats meaning their core temperature can rise quickly in high temperatures.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
Even with the increased numbers of travelers of late, going on vacation in autumn is like entering a hushed and luxurious train car after having been in a stuffed summer subway pressed against perspiring commuters.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2023
Andrew denied his accuser’s claim he was perspiring when they first met because he had “a peculiar medical condition, which is that I don’t sweat.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
I literally started perspiring — flop sweat — as if I were taking a final exam in a language I only partially recognized.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2022
Major Danby entreated politely, pulling free and patting his perspiring brow with a fluttering motion.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
