perspire
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perspirabilitynoun
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perspirableadjective
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perspiryadjective
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unperspiredadjective
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unperspiringadjective
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perspiringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perspiresimple
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perspiressimple
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have perspiredperfect
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has perspiredperfect
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am perspiringprogressive
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are perspiringprogressive
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is perspiringprogressive
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have been perspiringperfect progressive
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has been perspiringperfect progressive
Past
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perspiredsimple
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had perspiredperfect
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was perspiringprogressive
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were perspiringprogressive
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had been perspiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perspire
1640–50; < Latin perspīrāre to blow constantly (said of the wind), breathe through; in New Latin: to sweat imperceptibly. See per-, inspire
Explanation
To perspire is to sweat: to excrete perspiration through the pores in your skin. Whenever little drops of moisture appear on your skin, you're perspiring or sweating. People sweat when they're nervous, when it's hot out, and when they're doing a lot of exercise. If you watch people playing a strenuous sport like basketball, they will be perspiring. Perspiring is one way your body cools itself off, so sweating is a good thing, even though it can make you feel gross. Some animals — like dogs — can't perspire, so it's harder for them to cool off.
Vocabulary lists containing perspire
"Marionettes, Inc." by Ray Bradbury
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Novel Study: Fahrenheit 451, Part II
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The Fighting Ground
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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:
He couldn’t have been sweating on the dancefloor because an “overdose of adrenaline’’ during his time as a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War had left him unable to perspire.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
And he said, ‘Coach, quarterbacks don’t sweat. Quarterbacks perspire.’
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
Sustained exposure to certain thresholds of high heat and humidity makes it difficult for people’s bodies to cool down, as they cannot effectively perspire.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
In summer’s heat, we perspire, and the perspiration evaporates.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 11, 2021
Mother is making him perspire in hopes of sweating out the fever.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
But nearly everything about Charlie — the sound of his breathing, the way he eats, moves and perspires — underlines his abjection, to an extent that starts to feel cruel and voyeuristic.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
He walks five miles every day for exercise and perspires a great deal, but he doesn’t change his shirt.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
Runny Rampling shamelessly perspires like some sort of gruesome mutant.”
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2016
Short and plump, Agarwal perspires in the late spring heat.
From Forbes ● Jul. 2, 2014
Once inside the train he perspires heavily and takes off his coat.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
The beleaguered bride, in her dress, perspired through her makeup on a warm afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
He recalls that Cash, out of his element as an actor, perspired so much out of nervousness that Ron got soaking wet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
Yet the second-seeded Federer perspired so much during his upset loss to Millman this week that some began to wonder whether his switch in apparel sponsorship from Nike to Uniqlo was to blame.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 6, 2018
But I perspired on them so much that the metal inside was totally rusted and started to smell.
From The Verge ● Oct. 15, 2017
On days seven through eleven, I perspired a lot.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Still he battled on against the Dutch - limping, perspiring and also taking one stomach-churning blow where no man wants to be hit as he went.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2023
Even with the increased numbers of travelers of late, going on vacation in autumn is like entering a hushed and luxurious train car after having been in a stuffed summer subway pressed against perspiring commuters.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2023
If you see your child has hot and dry skin, is breathing rapidly, has a rapid heart rate or is no perspiring — or barely perspiring — these could be a sign of heatstroke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
He has a hot girlfriend who tells him how beautiful he is and a heavily perspiring agent who tells him how powerful he is — what more could a guy want?
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2022
It was hot and we came off the floor perspiring.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
