respiration

American  

[res-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌrɛs pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• respirations
  plural

1. the act of respiring; inhalation and exhalation of air; breathing.

2. Biology.

   1. the sum total of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which oxygen is conveyed to tissues and cells, and the oxidation products, carbon dioxide and water, are given off.

   2. an analogous chemical process, as in muscle cells or in anaerobic bacteria, occurring in the absence of oxygen.

---

respiration British  

/ ˌrɛspəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the process in living organisms of taking in oxygen from the surroundings and giving out carbon dioxide ( external respiration ). In terrestrial animals this is effected by breathing air

2. the chemical breakdown of complex organic substances, such as carbohydrates and fats, that takes place in the cells and tissues of animals and plants, during which energy is released and carbon dioxide produced ( internal respiration )

---

respiration Scientific  

/ rĕs′pə-rā′shən /

1. The process by which organisms exchange gases, especially oxygen and carbon dioxide, with the environment. In air-breathing vertebrates, respiration takes place in the lungs. In fish and many invertebrates, respiration takes place through the gills. Respiration in green plants occurs during photosynthesis.

2. See cellular respiration

---

respiration Cultural  

1. The conversion of oxygen by living things into the energy by which they continue life. Respiration is part of metabolism.

---

Discover More

Carbon dioxide is a waste product of respiration.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prerespiration
  noun
• respirational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• respirations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of respiration

1400–50; late Middle English respiracioun < Latin respīrātiōn- (stem of respīrātiō ) a breathing out, equivalent to respīrāt ( us ) (past participle of respīrāre to respire ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Respiration is the act of breathing. You wear a ventilator if you need help with your respiration. Everyone who breathes has the power of respiration. There is, however, another type of respiration which occurs in cells. This is the process of taking in certain substances and putting out others that a cell undergoes to produces energy. One single breath, the inhale and the exhale together, is also called a respiration.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

respiration respirations

However, the decline in respiration observed in nitrogen saturated forests is not necessarily good news.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

Toxicity can develop, readily available carbon sources become depleted, and the increase in soil respiration eventually levels off before declining.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

Overall, the study found that nitrogen deposition increases global soil respiration by roughly 5%.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

While convenient, these warmer conditions speed up respiration and ripening, causing fruit to soften and deteriorate more rapidly.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

Back in Bithynios, where sustained respiration rendered a bachelor eligible, men of equivalent age had successfully asked for the hand of a girl like me.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

She is now on the monitor, the beeping display of her heartbeats and respirations scrolling along in green and red like a stock ticker at the bottom of the evening news.

From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2019

In one episode he described as “egregious”, an entry was made “that stated the patient was resting in bed with respirations even and unlabored, however, this resident had already died before this entry was made.”

From The Guardian ● Nov. 8, 2017

These “sighing” respirations, which can occur several times per hour, can lead people to fear that each episode may be their last.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2017

Alyssa brought him water and Gatorade, monitored his heart rate and counted his respirations for signs of distress, coached on the phone by her aunt, Katina Hawkins, a nurse in Louisiana.

From Washington Post

His chest heaved with emotion, which ever and anon found vent in laboured respirations of unspeakable misery.

From The Cavaliers of Virginia, vol. 1 of 2 or, The Recluse of Jamestown; An historical romance of the Old Dominion by William A. (Alexander) Caruthers