transpire

[tran-spahyuhr]

verb (used without object)

transpired, transpiring 

1. to occur; happen; take place.

2. to emit or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.

3. to escape, as moisture or odor, through or as if through pores.

4. to be revealed or become known.

verb (used with object)

transpired, transpiring 

1. to emit or give off (waste matter, watery vapor, an odor, etc.) through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.

transpire

/ ˌtrænspəˈreɪʃən, trænˈspaɪə /

verb

1. (intr) to come to light; be known

2. informal,  (intr) to happen or occur

3. physiol to give off or exhale (water or vapour) through the skin, a mucous membrane, etc

4. (of plants) to lose (water in the form of water vapour), esp through the stomata of the leaves

Usage

It is often maintained that transpire should not be used to mean happen or occur, as in the event transpired late in the evening , and that the word is properly used to mean become known, as in it transpired later that the thief had been caught . The word is, however, widely used in the former sense, esp in spoken English

Other Word Forms

• transpiration noun
• transpiratory adjective
• transpirable adjective
• untranspiring adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transpire¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French transpirer, from Medieval Latin trānspīrāre, equivalent to Latin trāns- trans- + spīrāre “to breathe”

Word History and Origins

Origin of transpire¹

C16: from Medieval Latin transpīrāre , from Latin _trans- + spīrāre to breathe

Example Sentences

South Africa needed to beat Rwanda and hope Nigeria defeated Benin, and that is what transpired with the home teams making dream starts.

Read more on Barron's

Some might want to describe what transpired at T-Mobile Park on Friday as an “instant classic.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This woman, it transpires, is fleeing an unhappy marriage; she invites herself onboard and persuades Jatgeir to run away with her.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For one, the romance that transpires is between a living male and, let’s say, a ghostly woman.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the book begins, these plans have been torn asunder: Marc, as it transpires, has been killed in a rebel attack on a refugee camp in Libya.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arise 
• befall 
• ensue