expectorate

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

ex·pec·to·rate

(ĭk-spĕk′tə-rāt′)

v. ex·pec·to·rat·ed, ex·pec·to·rat·ing, ex·pec·to·rates

v.tr.

1. To eject from the mouth; spit.

2. To cough up and eject by spitting.

v.intr.

1. To spit.

2. To clear out the chest and lungs by coughing up and spitting out matter.

[Latin expectorāre, expectorāt-, to drive from the chest : ex-, ex- + pectus, pector-, chest.]

ex·pec′to·ra′tion n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

expectorate

(ɪkˈspɛktəˌreɪt)

(Physiology) to cough up and spit out (sputum from the respiratory passages)

[C17: from Latin expectorāre, literally: to drive from the breast, expel, from pectus breast]

exˌpectoˈration n

exˈpectoˌrator n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ex•pec•to•rate

(ɪkˈspɛk təˌreɪt)

v. -rat•ed, -rat•ing. v.i.

1. to expel matter from the throat or lungs by coughing and spitting.

2. to spit.

v.t.

3. to expel from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting.

4. to spit.

[1595–1605; < New Latin expectorātus, past participle of expectorāre, Latin: to banish from the mind]

ex•pec′to•ra`tor, n.

expectorate

Past participle: expectorated
Gerund: expectorating

Imperative
expectorate
expectorate

Present
I expectorate
you expectorate
he/she/it expectorates
we expectorate
you expectorate
they expectorate

Preterite
I expectorated
you expectorated
he/she/it expectorated
we expectorated
you expectorated
they expectorated

Present Continuous
I am expectorating
you are expectorating
he/she/it is expectorating
we are expectorating
you are expectorating
they are expectorating

Present Perfect
I have expectorated
you have expectorated
he/she/it has expectorated
we have expectorated
you have expectorated
they have expectorated

Past Continuous
I was expectorating
you were expectorating
he/she/it was expectorating
we were expectorating
you were expectorating
they were expectorating

Past Perfect
I had expectorated
you had expectorated
he/she/it had expectorated
we had expectorated
you had expectorated
they had expectorated

Future
I will expectorate
you will expectorate
he/she/it will expectorate
we will expectorate
you will expectorate
they will expectorate

Future Perfect
I will have expectorated
you will have expectorated
he/she/it will have expectorated
we will have expectorated
you will have expectorated
they will have expectorated

Future Continuous
I will be expectorating
you will be expectorating
he/she/it will be expectorating
we will be expectorating
you will be expectorating
they will be expectorating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been expectorating
you have been expectorating
he/she/it has been expectorating
we have been expectorating
you have been expectorating
they have been expectorating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been expectorating
you will have been expectorating
he/she/it will have been expectorating
we will have been expectorating
you will have been expectorating
they will have been expectorating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been expectorating
you had been expectorating
he/she/it had been expectorating
we had been expectorating
you had been expectorating
they had been expectorating

Conditional
I would expectorate
you would expectorate
he/she/it would expectorate
we would expectorate
you would expectorate
they would expectorate

Past Conditional
I would have expectorated
you would have expectorated
he/she/it would have expectorated
we would have expectorated
you would have expectorated
they would have expectorated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	expectorate - clear out the chest and lungs; "This drug expectorates quickly" clear out, drive out remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"
	2.	expectorate - discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth cough out, cough up, spit up, spit out cough - exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion; "The smoker coughs all day" ptyalise, ptyalize, spew, spit, spue - expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth; "The father of the victim spat at the alleged murderer" spit out, splutter, sputter - spit up in an explosive manner eject, expel, release, exhaust, discharge - eliminate (a substance); "combustion products are exhausted in the engine"; "the plant releases a gas"

Translations

expectorer

expectorate

[eksˈpektəreɪt] VT → expectorar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

expectorate

vti (form) → ausspeien

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

As Tom wended to school after breakfast, he was the envy of every boy he met because the gap in his upper row of teeth enabled him to expectorate in a new and admirable way.

View in context

“Out of nater, sir, quite out of nater,” said Elnathan, attempting to expectorate, but succeeding only in throwing a light, frothy substance, like a flake of snow, into the fire—” quite out of nater that a wound so well dressed, and with the ball in my pocket, should fester.

View in context

In addition to this possible outcome, social media cautions the user against swallowing the oil because it will contain the bacteria and toxins that were removed from the oral cavity (and to never expectorate into the sink as the oil could clog drainage pipes).

Patient Education: Holistic Oral Health Care Trends: Social media brings attention to "natural remedies" that may not be effective or safe

No liquids were ingested during the time-trial, and upon completion of exercise, final volumes of expectorate were examined.

Carbohydrate Mouth Rinse Improves Cycling Time-Trial Performance without Altering Plasma Insulin Concentration

The company uses proprietary modified polysaccharide molecules to disrupt bacterial biofilms and to help expectorate mucus, exposing otherwise protected bacteria to antibiotics.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Awards Synspira USD 3m for Development of SNSP113

Sputum was mucopurulent, foul smelling but easy to expectorate. He was repeatedly hospitalized since infancy for chest infections and was given repeated courses of oral and parenteral antibiotics.

H-TYPE TRACHEOESOPHAGEAL FISTULA IN A CHILD WITH DYSMORPHISM: VATER OR NOT?

used bronchodilator and postural drainage (nonendoscopic technic) for expectorate of aspirated FB in 24 child succesfully.

Bronchoscopy for foreign body aspiration and effects of nebulized albuterol and budesonide combination

Sputa samples were collected in wide mouthed sterile bottles by allowing patients to cough and expectorate whereas the throat swabs were collected by allowing the patients to lay down their heads and the sterile commercial swab was rolled on the inflamed regions of throat after depressing the tongue with sterile depressor.

Epidemiological Studies of Potent Environmental Pathogen: Streptococcus pneumoniae

Patients were instructed to expectorate sputum in a sterile sputum cup.

Gram Stain and Molecular Method for the Diagnosis of Bacterial Pneumonia

Any incipient character can expectorate prejudiced, biased thought, then slink away.

Letters

Products based on Hedera Helix became very popular as a natural option to expectorate phlegm, and the trend continued in 2014 and 2015.

New Report Available: Herbal/Traditional Products in Venezuela

If your children are able to expectorate mouthwash without swallowing any, have them use a fluoridated mouthwash at bedtime.