hyperventilate

American  

[hahy-per-ven-tl-eyt] / 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

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

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

Charlotte advises me to breathe deeply and try not to hyperventilate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 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

Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger told him he would hyperventilate if he didn’t control himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023

I began to hyperventilate until those little black dots swam in front of my eyes.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

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

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

From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2023

But Ms. Silveria’s anguished weeping, hyperventilated breathing and insistence that she “just saw him yesterday” seem startlingly real.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2020

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

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

Another witness told OnScene.TV that another family member was evacuated after she started hyperventilating and her blood pressure spiked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2025

If you’re hyperventilating at this point, calm down.

From Slate ● Nov. 24, 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

Grover’s hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan