air hunger

American

noun

deep, rapid, and labored breathing caused by an increased respiratory drive due to abnormally low blood oxygen levels, as in severe heart failure or asthma.

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.

The resulting sensation of breathlessness or air hunger, Liberles said, can be distressing, yet little is known about how it arises.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024

His lawyers said the drugs placed him at risk of air hunger, a phenomenon which causes terror as the patient struggles to catch his breath.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2014

“He did not experience pain, distress or air hunger after the drugs were administered or when the bodily movements and sounds occurred,” the state said.

From Time • May 28, 2014

Lawyers for McGuire said the drugs placed him at risk of air hunger, a phenomenon which causes terror as the patient struggles to catch his breath.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2014

The respiratory rate naturally increases because of air hunger, accumulating secretions that cannot be expelled because of impaired glottic motility give signs wrongly interpreted as pneumonia.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023