sputum

American  

[spyoo-tuhm] / ˈspju təm /

noun

• sputa
  plural

1. matter, as saliva mixed with mucus or pus, expectorated from the lungs and respiratory passages.

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sputum British  

/ ˈspjuːtəm /

noun

1. a mass of salivary matter ejected from the mouth

2. saliva ejected from the mouth mixed with mucus or pus exuded from the respiratory passages, as in bronchitis or bronchiectasis

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sputa
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sputum

1685–95; < Latin spūtum, noun use of neuter of spūtus, past participle of spuere to spit, equivalent to spū- variant stem + -tus past participle suffix

Compare meaning

How does sputum compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sputum vs. mucus

Explanation

Sputum is the gross stuff that you cough up when you're sick and congested. Sputum is your saliva mixed with mucus from your lungs. Examining a patient's sputum is one way for a doctor to tell if she might have an infection, rather than just a cold. A yellow or greenish color to the sputum someone coughs up is a sign of infection, while clear sputum usually means all is well. The word sputum shares a root with spew, the Latin verb spuere, "to spit."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sputum sputa

That’s sputum, the mucus found deep in the airways.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

"It's meant to break up sputum, but kids under two can't spit it out, so the mucus can be aspirated into the lungs, causing pneumonia - yet it is still prescribed."

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

In this study, experts engineered a living material resembling natural sputum, or phlegm, from CF patients that can grow 3D polymicrobial biofilms in a controlled manner, resembling those found in the CF lung.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023

They’ve also helped health clinics in Africa diagnose people with tuberculosis, detecting the bacteria in the sputum samples of 25,000 patients.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2023

Miss Love looked at the sputum he spat into a rag.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

He noted the temperature; rate and other qualities of the pulse; looked at the tongue and sputa.

From Doctor Jones' Picnic by Chapman, S. E. (Samuel E.)

If the lung is injured the sputa will be bloody, and the appearance of such a condition should be at once reported.

From How to Care for the Insane A Manual for Nurses by Granger, William D.

I gave over the case at this time, and some weeks afterwards I learnt with surprise that the patient was well and growing fat, and that the inoculation of the sputa had produced no effects.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock

It was found in miliary tubercles of the lung, cerebral and intestinal tubercle, cheesy bronchitis and pneumonia, phthisical sputa, scrofulous glands, and fungous inflammation of the joints.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

I did so, and to my surprise the blood-streaked sputa again appeared after they had taken the remedy ix, one grain four times daily.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock