exhale
Americanverb (used without object)
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to emit breath or vapor; breathe out.
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to pass off as vapor; pass off as an effluence.
verb (used with object)
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to breathe out; emit (air, vapor, sound, etc.).
to exhale a sigh.
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to give off as vapor.
The engine exhaled steam.
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to draw out as a vapor or effluence; evaporate.
verb
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to expel (breath, tobacco smoke, etc) from the lungs; breathe out
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to give off (air, vapour, fumes, etc) or (of air, vapour, etc) to be given off; emanate
Other Word Forms
- exhalable adjective
- exhalation noun
- unexhaled adjective
Etymology
Origin of exhale
1350–1400; Middle English exalen < Latin exhālāre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + hālāre to breathe
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 phrenic nerves contract and expand the diaphragm, which allows the lungs to inhale and exhale.
From BBC
Scientists flew drones equipped with special kit through the exhaled droplets, or "blows", made when the giants come up to breathe through their blowholes.
From BBC
The technology pulls the driver's exhaled breath into sensors located in the driver's side door or in the dashboard and steering column, as the driver breathes normally.
I’m particularly fond of how the Na’vi express themselves in hisses and coyote yips and exhale the foreign name Jake Sully like a sneeze.
From Los Angeles Times
When you whisk that nutty, toffee-adjacent warmth into the mix, especially alongside fruit and a streak of citrus zest, the entire batter exhales.
From Salon
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.
