expectorate

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expectorate For expectorating adults looking down, a guard may block big droplets but work less well for shorter persons, like children. San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2024 Place used clothing in hampers; blow your nose in a tissue; clear your throat and expectorate to remove mucus, which may contain particles inhaled in a lab; place glasses in the decontaminating solution for three minutes; take a full-body shower. Amy Barth, Discover Magazine, 24 Sep. 2012 Places where people might need to talk loudly, sing, or otherwise expectorate without a mask are seen as riskier than those where everyone can easily wear a mask at all times. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2020 Of course, there’s never been any such game where players young and old didn’t expectorate freely. Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 8 May 2020 When Andrei blasts Matvey with a shotgun, blowing apart one of his sofa cushions, which in turn expectorates a bunch of American dollars, those deeper motives becomes obvious. Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expectorate
Verb
  • If that didn’t prevent the irritation, the protists used their cilia to spit water at the pipette.
    Claire L. Evans, Quanta Magazine, 30 July 2025
  • One moment there’s a dual-headed hydra spitting flame in the city river, next there’s an all-out jet ski race bathed in gunfire.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • Mexico has expelled 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks sending drugs across the border, a person familiar with the matter said.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Mexico has expelled 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks sending drugs across the border, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Finally, the Liberty could exhale after dropping the first two games of the season against the Mercury.
    Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 25 July 2025
  • He was either shrouded in haze (the gasps of the fog machine eventually became indistinguishable from the vapor being collectively exhaled by the crowd) or obscured by low-angle backlighting.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 21 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Expectorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expectorate. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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