-
The act of breathing out air. During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, causing compression of the lungs and an outward flow of air.
-
Also called expiration
-
Compare inhalation
Etymology
Origin of exhalation
1350–1400; Middle English exalacion < Latin exhālātiōn- (stem of exhālātiō ). See exhale, -ation
Compare meaning
How does exhalation compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Vocabulary lists containing exhalation
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.
Mark Haddon recommended Ted Chiang’s collection Exhalation, and he and Jo Lloyd, winner of last year’s prize, both vouched for the Calvino-like inventions of Kanishk Tharoor’s Swimmer Among the Stars.
From The Guardian • Jul. 18, 2020
It’ll also be included in Chiang’s new collection, Exhalation, which is due out in May.
From The Verge • Mar. 23, 2019
Exhalation follows naturally when the hips are lowered.
From Time Magazine Archive
Is not Flame a Vapour, Fume or Exhalation heated red hot, that is, so hot as to shine?
From Opticks or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light by Newton, Isaac, Sir
"Exhalation" of planets made the occasion of a feast, 463-l.
From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert
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.
