expectorate

ex·pec·to·rate

verb \-tə-ˌrāt\

ex·pec·to·rat·edex·pec·to·rat·ing

Definition of EXPECTORATE

transitive verb

1

: to eject from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting

2

: spit

intransitive verb

1

: to discharge matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting

2

: spit

— ex·pec·to·ra·tion \-ˌspek-tə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

Origin of EXPECTORATE

Latin expectoratus, past participle of expectorare to banish from the mind (taken to mean literally “to expel from the chest”), from ex- + pector-, pectus breast, soul — more at pectoral

First Known Use: 1601

Rhymes with EXPECTORATE

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