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inhale

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in⋅hale

[in-heyl] verb, -haled, -hal⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to breathe in; draw in by breathing: to inhale the polluted air.
–verb (used without object)
2. to breathe in, esp. the smoke of cigarettes, cigars, etc.: Do you inhale when you smoke?

Origin:
1715–25; in- 2 + (ex)hale
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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in·hale   (ĭn-hāl')   
v.   in·haled, in·hal·ing, in·hales

v.   tr.
  1. To draw (air or smoke, for example) into the lungs by breathing; inspire.

  2. Informal To consume rapidly or eagerly; devour: inhaled lunch and then rushed off to the meeting.

v.   intr.
  1. To breathe in; inspire.

  2. To draw smoke into the lungs; puff.


[Latin inhālāre, to breathe upon (meaning influenced by contrast with exhale) : in-, in; see in-2 + hālāre, to breathe.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

inhale 
1623 (implied in inhalation), from L. inhalare "breathe upon," from in- "upon" + halare "breathe." Taken in Fr. and Eng. as the opposite of exhale. Slang sense of "eat rapidly" is recorded from 1924.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: in·hale
Pronunciation: in-'hA(&)l
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: in·haled; in·hal·ing
transitivesenses
: to draw in by breathing inhale intransitive senses
: to breathe in
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

inhale in·hale (ĭn-hāl')
v. in·haled, in·hal·ing, in·hales

  1. To breathe in; inspire.

  2. To draw something such as smoke or a medicinal mist into the lungs by breathing; inspire.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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