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expectorate

[ ik-spek-tuh-reyt ]
/ ɪkˈspɛk təˌreɪt /
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verb (used without object), ex·pec·to·rat·ed, ex·pec·to·rat·ing.
to eject or expel matter, as phlegm, from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting; spit.
verb (used with object), ex·pec·to·rat·ed, ex·pec·to·rat·ing.
to eject or expel (matter) in this way.
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Origin of expectorate

1595–1605; <Latin expectorātus (past participle of expectorāre to expel from the breast), equivalent to ex-ex-1 + pector- (stem of pectus) breast + -ātus-ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM expectorate

ex·pec·to·ra·tor, nounun·ex·pec·to·rat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use expectorate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for expectorate

expectorate
/ (ɪkˈspɛktəˌreɪt) /

verb
to cough up and spit out (sputum from the respiratory passages)

Derived forms of expectorate

expectoration, nounexpectorator, noun

Word Origin for expectorate

C17: from Latin expectorāre, literally: to drive from the breast, expel, from pectus breast
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
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