exhale
verb /eksˈheɪl/
/eksˈheɪl/
[intransitive, transitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they exhale | /eksˈheɪl/ /eksˈheɪl/ |
| he / she / it exhales | /eksˈheɪlz/ /eksˈheɪlz/ |
| past simple exhaled | /eksˈheɪld/ /eksˈheɪld/ |
| past participle exhaled | /eksˈheɪld/ /eksˈheɪld/ |
| -ing form exhaling | /eksˈheɪlɪŋ/ /eksˈheɪlɪŋ/ |
- to breathe out the air or smoke, etc. in your lungs
- He sat back and exhaled deeply.
- exhale something She exhaled the smoke through her nose.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryExhale is used with these nouns as the object:- breath
- smoke
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘be given off as vapour’): from Old French exhaler, from Latin exhalare, from ex- ‘out’ + halare ‘breathe’.