transpire
verb
Upton SinclairJane Austen
Can transpire mean 'to occur'?: Usage Guide
Sense 1 of transpire is frequently criticized by those who suppose sense 2 to be the only meaning of the word. Sense 1 appears to have developed in the late 18th century; it was well enough known to have been used by Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband in 1775.
Abigail Adams
Noah Webster recognized the new sense in his dictionary of 1828. Transpire was evidently a popular word with 19th century journalists; sense 1 turns up in such pretentiously worded statements as "The police drill will transpire under shelter to-day in consequence of the moist atmosphere prevailing." Around 1870 the sense began to be attacked as a misuse on the grounds of etymology, and modern critics echo that criticism. Nevertheless, after more than two and a half centuries of use, sense 1 is firmly established as standard.
Did you know?
If you’re someone who gets in a sweat over the now-common use of transpire meaning “to occur,” we hope this explainer helps you cool down and breathe easier—it just so happens that the word’s expansion from its technical origins transpired in a logical, or at least understandable, progression over the centuries. Transpire comes from the Latin verb spirare (“to breathe”), which also breathed life into perspire, aspire, and inspire, among other words. Wafting up into English in the late 16th century, transpire was originally used (as it still is) for the action of vapor passing out of the pores of a living membrane such as the skin. From this use followed the related senses of “to become known” and “to be revealed; to come to light” (think of information “leaking” or “slipping out”). Although some usage commentators maintain that these are the only proper figurative uses of transpire, none other than Abigail Adams used it to mean “to happen” in a 1775 letter to her husband (“there is nothing new transpired since I wrote you last”) and Noah Webster recognized the new sense in his dictionary of 1828. Today it is firmly established as standard, occurring widely in published prose.
Examples of transpire in a Sentence
Noah Camras, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Now, half a century after Moxley’s death, an explosive new podcast from NBC News Studios and Highly Replaceable Productions is questioning every conclusion that law enforcement, Greenwich residents, reporters, and true crime buffs have drawn about what transpired that cold October night in 1975.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
Nearly every player on the team not in the game — even those in street garb — was standing up, fully engaged with what was transpiring on the court at Capital One Arena.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2025
Both Indian and Pakistani users on social media shared fake satellite imagery to suggest their respective countries’ militaries had inflicted more damage than what otherwise transpired.
—Brady Africk, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for transpire
Cite this Entry
“Transpire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transpire. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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transpire
verb
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