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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exhalesimple
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exhalessimple
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have exhaledperfect
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has exhaledperfect
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am exhalingprogressive
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are exhalingprogressive
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is exhalingprogressive
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have been exhalingperfect progressive
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has been exhalingperfect progressive
Past
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exhaledsimple
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had exhaledperfect
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was exhalingprogressive
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were exhalingprogressive
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had been exhalingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exhale
1350–1400; Middle English exalen < Latin exhālāre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + hālāre to breathe
Explanation
When you breathe, you inhale and exhale. In other words, you breathe in and out. When you breathe out, you exhale. If you exhale on a cold winter day, your breath looks like smoke in the frigid air. Yoga classes, with their emphasis on breathing, involve a lot of inhaling and exhaling. When you exhale, your lungs push air out, reducing the carbon dioxide in your body and making room for you to inhale oxygen. The Latin root exhalare combines ex, "out," and halare, "breathe."
Vocabulary lists containing exhale
Power Prefix: ex-
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The Landry News
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Flying to the Moon
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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.
See Examples For:
More impressively, Melton manages to exhale a puff of smoke so thick that cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck can still see it through the set’s fog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Bright, airy and modern, it feels designed to help guests exhale the moment they walk through the door.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
There was a huge exhale of relief and an animated fist pump after his quarter-final victory over seven-time winner Michael van Gerwen, who occupies the final play-off berth.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
After hugging your relieved family, you’d check your brokerage statement and exhale, figuring that at least nothing had happened to the stock or bond markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
I closed my eyes and let out a long exhale, half relieved, half elated.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
"Cong phew!" exhales the Sun after "Hero Harry" comes "to the rescue".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
When it’s over, Parillo, whose nom de guerre in the competition is Velvet Milkman, exhales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Her husband Yitzhak, tense throughout, finally exhales, then explains that the couple will wait a week before choosing a name.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
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 ● Dec. 16, 2025
She exhales slowly, with effort, her eyes unblinking, focused on a point at the bottom of the pool.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
The gas was released on maternity units when cannisters were connected, birthing mothers exhaled, and when the equipment was faulty, according to papers filed at the High Court.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Once his win became official, Woodland looked to the sky, exhaled and pushed the brim of his cap down to cover his eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
A similar quarantine design had been used in earlier research, along with specialized testing of exhaled breath developed by Milton and his colleagues.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 11, 2026
Patients with asthma showed a median 56% reduction in fractional exhaled nitric oxide, indicating reduced airway inflammation.
From Barron's ● Dec. 8, 2025
Jam put her empty glass down on the counter and exhaled.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
As the vessel neared the island—and Rhodes lost her ball cap in the wind—an app on the laptop she cradled lit up with digital WhaleSpotter images of whales exhaling, called “blows.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
By late afternoon, most test-takers walk out of school gates, exhaling with relief and embracing the family members waiting outside.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
“He’ll probably start,” Roberts said, exhaling after a wild night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2024
She drew a fizzy bath, did some deep breathing, and upon exhaling, pulled.
From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2024
She hugged all three members of Sasha’s family and took a seat, exhaling sharply.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
