expectorate
to eject or expel matter, as phlegm, from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting; spit.
to eject or expel (matter) in this way.
Origin of expectorate
1Other words from expectorate
- ex·pec·to·ra·tor, noun
- un·ex·pec·to·rat·ed, adjective
Words Nearby expectorate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use expectorate in a sentence
The others, sitting on the floor, backs to the wall and knees drawn up to chins, smoke their pipes and expectorate.
'Neath Verdun, August-October, 1914 | Maurice Genevoix"I'll be damned if I know," he responded, looking around for some place to expectorate and finding none.
The Window at the White Cat | Mary Roberts RinehartHe is advised not to blow the nose, but to hawk as much of the secretion as possible backwards and then expectorate it.
He was sitting perched like a toad on the wood-box where he could expectorate with convenience into the ashpan of the stove.
Neighbours | Robert SteadOn one occasion he was playing a very close game, in the midst of which he left the table to expectorate in the fireplace.
General Scott | General Marcus J. Wright
British Dictionary definitions for expectorate
/ (ɪkˈspɛktəˌreɪt) /
to cough up and spit out (sputum from the respiratory passages)
Origin of expectorate
1Derived forms of expectorate
- expectoration, noun
- expectorator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse