respire
Americanverb (used without object)
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to inhale and exhale air for the purpose of maintaining life; breathe.
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to breathe freely again, after anxiety, trouble, etc.
verb (used with object)
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to breathe; inhale and exhale.
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to exhale.
verb
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to inhale and exhale (air); breathe
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(intr) to undergo the process of respiration
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literary to breathe again in a relaxed or easy manner, as after stress or exertion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have respiredperfect
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has respiredperfect 3rd person singular
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am respiringprogressive 1st person singular
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are respiringprogressive
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have been respiringperfect progressive
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respiringparticiple
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is respiringprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been respiringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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respiressingular 3rd person
Past
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had respiredperfect
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respiredsimple
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had been respiringperfect progressive
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was respiringprogressive singular
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respiredparticiple
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were respiringprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of respire
1375–1425; late Middle English respiren < Latin respīrāre, equivalent to re- re- + spīrāre to breathe; see spirit
Explanation
To respire is to breathe in and out. After a calf is born, a farmer might watch it respire for a while to make sure it's okay. While you can use the verb respire simply to mean "breathe," it's most often used in a medical or scientific context. A nurse might worry about the rate at which a patient respires, and a biologist might discuss the way a plant respires at night, when light doesn't reach its leaves. The Latin root, respirare, means "breathe again" or "breathe in and out," from re-, "again," and spirare, "to breathe."
Vocabulary lists containing respire
"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 17
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The Body Eclectic: Words For Common Physical Functions
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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.
