hyperventilate

American  

[hahy-per-ven-tl-ayt] / ˌhaɪ pərˈvɛn tlˌeɪt /

verb (used without object)

hyperventilated, hyperventilating

1. to be afflicted with hyperventilation; breathe abnormally fast and deep.

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verb (used with object)

hyperventilated, hyperventilating

1. to cause (a patient) to breathe more rapidly and deeply than normal.

hyperventilate British  

/ ˌhaɪpəˈvɛntɪleɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to breathe in an abnormally deep, long, and rapid manner, sometimes resulting in cramp and dizziness

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Etymology

Origin of hyperventilate

First recorded in 1930–35; back formation from hyperventilation

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Explanation

To hyperventilate is to breathe so unusually fast that you feel dizzy or panicked. You might hyperventilate after exercising too hard on a hot day, or because you're anxious about speaking in front of a crowd. When you hyperventilate, your body starts to lose carbon dioxide much faster than normal. This is what causes wooziness or even fainting in people who hyperventilate. There are many reasons for this rapid breathing, including being at a very high altitude, reacting badly to a medication, or just feeling very fearful. Hyperventilate combines the Greek hyper-, "over" or "beyond," and ventilate, from the Latin ventilare, "fan" or "agitate."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hyperventilate hyperventilated hyperventilating

Her first eclipse, seen in 2006 from a cave in Cappadocia, Turkey, made Whitman Check hyperventilate and her husband cry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Before some of you hyperventilate, that huge agenda is not what Andy Burnham is likely to argue for on day one.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

On the flight to Guadalajara, Negrete’s heart raced and he began to hyperventilate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025

The game experience at the Duchess was filled with anxious chatter interrupted by loud bursts of joy when the Huskies scored, with the fourth quarter providing tension enough to make Husky fans everywhere hyperventilate.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

My head is dizzy as I begin to hyperventilate.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

After their Game 7 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays, I was so spent that I hyperventilated for what felt like an hour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025

About one-third of the fatigue patients hyperventilated, while just one person in the control group did.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2025

Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, it is a crowded, hyperventilated portrait stuffed with archival and original material, including interviews with Morricone shot in 2015 and 2016.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

Spence got down on the floor, speaking calmly as the young woman hyperventilated.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2023

Eager now, he hyperventilated a final time, huffing high in the blackness.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

The private saw a woman on the ground hyperventilating and holding a baby as her husband yelled for help.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks are not in a bubble: Many market commentators are hyperventilating about tech stocks being a bubble.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

Those manic rushes of major-chord euphoria in their hyperventilating crime movies “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems” are by Lopatin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025

Scotland fans were almost hyperventilating when Grant Hanley was named in the team, but the Hibernian centre-back was terrific against Denmark, emblematic of a performance that was disciplined, dogged and occasionally threatening.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

Holly is all red and practically hyperventilating and both Nellie Abbott and Taylor Dixwell have their hands up like lions all ready for that giraffe.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

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