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Synonyms

expectorant

American  
[ik-spek-ter-uhnt] / ɪkˈspɛk tər ənt /

adjective

  1. promoting the discharge of phlegm or other fluid from the respiratory tract.

noun

  1. an expectorant medicine.

expectorant British  
/ ɪkˈspɛktərənt /

adjective

  1. promoting the secretion, liquefaction, or expulsion of sputum from the respiratory passages

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an expectorant drug or agent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
expectorant Scientific  
/ ĭk-spĕk′tər-ənt /

  1. A drug that promotes the discharge of phlegm or mucus from the respiratory tract.

Etymology

Origin of expectorant

1775–85; < Latin expectorant- (stem of expectorāns ), present participle of expectorāre to expectorate; see -ant

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.

I've got a little belt of sassparilla land in there just tucked away unobstrusively waiting for my little Universal Expectorant to get into shape in my head.

From The Gilded Age, Part 3. by Warner, Charles Dudley

A religions contemporary discovered that the Visiter did actually advertise "Jayne's Expectorant," and such an expectoration of pious reprehension as this did call forth!

From Half a Century by Swisshelm, Jane Grey Cannon

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.