perspire

verb

per·​spire pər-ˈspī(-ə)r How to pronounce perspire (audio)
perspired; perspiring

intransitive verb

: to emit matter through the skin
specifically : to secrete and emit perspiration

Example Sentences

I was nervous and could feel myself start to perspire. She ran two miles and wasn't even perspiring.
Recent Examples on the Web Weightlifting was for the circus or the effeminate; ladies didn’t perspire, much less sweat. Katrina Gulliver, WSJ, 2 Jan. 2023 Because sweat is such a trigger for her, Eliza also gravitates toward workouts that won’t make her perspire a ton, to keep her skin as comfortable as possible. Emilia Benton, SELF, 5 Dec. 2022 Humans, Bethea writes, are tailor-made for this pursuit because of legs built from slow-twitch fibers and the ability to perspire. The Editors, Outside Online, 28 Jan. 2015 In muggy South Florida, the Spartans expect to perspire until the very end. Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 14 Sep. 2021 Symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, fainting, headache and either profuse sweating or the inability to perspire, system officials said. Liz Hardaway, San Antonio Express-News, 16 June 2021 If your feet perspire a lot on the slopes, get a pair of ski socks that will wick moisture away from your skin. Outdoor Life, 24 Feb. 2021 Has there ever been another athlete who did not perspire? Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Feb. 2021 By the end of the debate, Kennedy, tanned and relaxed, appeared to have triumphed over a sickly looking Nixon, who had been noticeably perspiring under Mr. Hymes’s lights. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2019 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perspire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

French perspirer, from Middle French, from Latin per- through + spirare to blow, breathe — more at per-

First Known Use

circa 1682, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of perspire was circa 1682

Dictionary Entries Near perspire

Cite this Entry

“Perspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perspire. Accessed 25 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

perspire

verb
per·​spire pər-ˈspī(ə)r How to pronounce perspire (audio)
perspired; perspiring
: to give off perspiration : sweat

Medical Definition

perspire

intransitive verb
per·​spire pər-ˈspī(ə)r How to pronounce perspire (audio)
perspired; perspiring
: to emit matter through the skin
specifically : to secrete and emit perspiration

More from Merriam-Webster on perspire

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