Expectorate Definition
ĭk-spĕktə-rāt
expectorated, expectorates, expectorating
verb
expectorated, expectorates, expectorating
To cough up and spit out (phlegm, mucus, etc.)
Webster's New World
To cough up and eject by spitting.
American Heritage Medicine
To spit.
Webster's New World
To clear out the chest and lungs by coughing up and spitting out matter.
American Heritage Medicine
Origin of Expectorate
-
From Latin expectoratus, past participle of expectorare (“only fig. banish from the mind, but literally (as in modern use) expel from the breast”), from ex (“out of”) + pectus (“the breast”).
From Wiktionary
Latin expectorāre expectorāt- to drive from the chest ex- ex- pectus pector- chest
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to expectorate using the buttons below.