Adjacent Words

Respire definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RESPI'RE, v.i. [L. respiro; re and spiro, to breathe.]
1. To breathe; to inhale air into the lungs and exhale it, for the purpose of maintaining animal life.
2. To catch breath.
3. To rest; to take rest from toil.
RESPI'RE, v.t. To exhale; to breathe out; to send out in exhalations.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: breathe easily again, as after exertion or anxiety
2: undergo the biomedical and metabolic processes of respiration by taking up oxygen and producing carbon monoxide
3: draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs; "I can breathe better when the air is clean"; "The patient is respiring" [syn: breathe, take a breath, respire, suspire]

Merriam Webster's

verb (respired; respiring) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin respirare, from re- + spirare to blow, breathe Date: 15th century intransitive verb 1. breathe; specifically to inhale and exhale air successively 2. of a cell or tissue to take up oxygen and produce carbon dioxide through oxidation transitive verb breathe

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. breathe air. 2 intr. inhale and exhale air. 3 intr. (of a plant) carry out respiration. 4 tr. breathe (air etc.). 5 intr. breathe again; take a breath. 6 intr. get rest or respite; recover hope or spirit. Derivatives: respiratory adj. Etymology: ME f. OF respirer or f. L respirare (as RE-, spirare breathe)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Respire Re*spire", v. t. 1. To breathe in and out; to inspire and expire,, as air; to breathe. A native of the land where I respire The clear air for a while. --Byron. 2. To breathe out; to exhale. [R.] --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Respire Re*spire" (r?*sp?r), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Respired (-sp?rd"); p. pr. & vvb. n. Respiring.] [L. respirare, respiratum; pref. re- re- + spirare to breathe: cf. F. respirer. See Spirit.] 1. To take breath again; hence, to take rest or refreshment. --Spenser. Here leave me to respire. --Milton. From the mountains where I now respire. --Byron. 2. (Physiol.) To breathe; to inhale air into the lungs, and exhale it from them, successively, for the purpose of maintaining the vitality of the blood.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Breathe.

Moby Thesaurus

be alive, be animate, blow, breathe, breathe hard, breathe in, breathe out, cough, draw breath, exhale, exhaust, exist, expel, expire, fetch breath, gasp, gulp, hack, have life, hiccup, huff, inhale, inspire, live, live and breathe, pant, puff, sigh, sneeze, sniff, sniffle, snore, snort, snuff, snuffle, subsist, walk the earth, wheeze