ventilate

American  

[ven-tl-eyt] / ˈvɛn tlˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• ventilates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ventilated,
  past participle,  past
• ventilating
  present participle

1. to provide (a room, mine, etc.) with fresh air in place of air that has been used or contaminated.

2. Medicine/Medical.

   1. to oxygenate (blood) by exposure to air in the lungs or gills.

   2. to assist the breathing of (a person), as with a respirator.

3. (of air or wind) to circulate through or blow on, so as to cool or freshen the air of.

   Cool breezes ventilated the house.

4. to expose to the action of air or wind.

   to ventilate floor timbers.

5. to submit (a question, problem, etc.) to open, full examination and discussion.

   Synonyms:

   report, circulate, publicize, broadcast

6. to give utterance or expression to (an opinion, complaint, etc.).

7. to furnish with a vent or opening, as for the escape of air or gas.

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verb (used without object)

• ventilates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ventilated,
  past participle,  past
• ventilating
  present participle

1. to give utterance or expression to one's emotions, opinions, complaints, etc.

ventilate British  

/ ˈvɛntɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to drive foul air out of (an enclosed area)

2. to provide with a means of airing

3. to expose (a question, grievance, etc) to public examination or discussion

4. physiol to oxygenate (the blood) in the capillaries of the lungs

5. to winnow (grain)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overventilate
  verb (used with object)
• reventilate
  verb (used with object)
• underventilate
  verb (used with object)
• self-ventilated
  adjective
• underventilated
  adjective
• unventilated
  adjective
• ventilable
  adjective
• well-ventilated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ventilating
  present
• ventilated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ventilate
  simple
• ventilates
  simple
• have ventilated
  perfect
• has ventilated
  perfect
• am ventilating
  progressive
• are ventilating
  progressive
• is ventilating
  progressive
• have been ventilating
  perfect progressive
• has been ventilating
  perfect progressive

Past

• ventilated
  simple
• had ventilated
  perfect
• was ventilating
  progressive
• were ventilating
  progressive
• had been ventilating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ventilate
  simple
• will have ventilated
  perfect
• will be ventilating
  progressive
• will have been ventilating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ventilate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English ventilatten “to blow (something) away,” from Latin ventilātus (past participle of ventilāre “to fan”), equivalent to vent(us) “wind” + -il- verb suffix (variant of -ul-, originally after derivatives of nouns ending in -ulus ) + -ātus suffix forming adjectives; see origin at -ule, -ate ¹; cf. speculate, wind ¹

Explanation

To ventilate is to let something flow freely, whether it's air or ideas. It's especially important to ventilate your art studio if you're using spray paint. When a doctor uses the word ventilate, she's usually talking specifically about air moving through a patient's lungs: "We need to artificially ventilate him until his airway is clear." Otherwise, when we ventilate something, we're almost always trying to get more clean or cool air flowing in and moving around: "You need to ventilate this room better before you set up your screen printing business here." The root of ventilate means "blowing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ventilate ventilates ventilated ventilating

"They are asking estate agents very practical questions about temperatures during the last heatwave, whether it is possible to ventilate the home at night, and whether people sleep well in the bedrooms," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

In the future, the technology could help ventilate greenhouses or residential buildings without conventional energy sources.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

After turning off the burners and opening windows to ventilate the apartment, the team contacted firefighters and stayed with the woman until they arrived.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025

Organizers should also find ways to ventilate the event space, including, potentially, by reducing seat capacity.

From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2023

“The fireplace used up all the oxygen. I’ve got to ventilate this place.”

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

As we followed a trail through waist-high grass, the sun was hot and a ridge blocked the breeze, the steady trade wind that reliably ventilates the Caribbean.

From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2015

The mastoid portion of the temporal bone, which can be felt as a bump in the skull behind the pinna, also contains air, which ventilates through the middle ear.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Like a healer, he helps us to come to terms with the miseries he ventilates on our behalf.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2010

And when their various pathologies grow suffocating, the director of photography, Michael Hardwick, ventilates the movie with pure Alaskan light and scrubbed, cerulean skies.

From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2010

Much food in a dining-car clogs the system and ventilates the pocketbook, so to speak.

From Beatrice Leigh at College A Story for Girls by Julia Augusta Schwartz

Keep them ventilated during the day and, where possible, close internal doors between the conservatory and the rest of the house.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Durga Devi finds no relief after a day working in New Delhi's sweltering summer, because her poorly ventilated home radiates trapped heat, leaving her bedroom as hot as 45 degrees at night.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

Toxic gas is believed to have built up underground in poorly ventilated tunnels, causing the workers to collapse just before the end of their night shift.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

The Nightshade Hybrid grade includes leather-trimmed seating surfaces—baby formula cleans up quick!—and heated, ventilated front and mid-row seats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

We are safe, well ventilated, and incubated, provided we can avoid technologies that might fiddle with that ozone, or shift the levels of carbon dioxide.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Homeowners say their builders have made mistakes as they attempt to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible, installing improperly sized HVACs, putting in windows incorrectly, or poorly ventilating attics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

These are necessary for ventilating certain rooms, like your kitchen and bathroom.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2023

Crews were ventilating the area to remove the irritant around 2:30 p.m.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023

Fortunately, we can reduce that risk by ventilating buildings and filtering the air we breathe.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022

“Mister,” he said, “you don’t need no ventilating holes in that there door.”

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

Related Words

• vent