inhale
/ɪnˈheɪl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.25 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To draw air into the lungs, through the nose or mouth by action of the diaphragm.
Intransitive verb
verb
To draw air or any form of gas (either in a pure form, or mixed with small particles in the form of aerosols/smoke, sometimes stemming from a medicament) into the lungs, through the nose or mouth by action of the diaphragm.
Transitive verb
noun
An inhalation.
Example Sentences
- "“Please. I’m starved.” Her gaze followed the man with the meatpies while she inhaled deeply, trying to hold onto the heavenly scent. […] “I find myself ravenous for meatpie.”"
- "[…] this room, where misfortune seems to ooze, where speculation lurks in corners, and of which Madame Vauquer inhales the warm, fetid air without being nauseated."
- "And he led the way from the station, stopping once to gloat over the sunset across Trafalgar Square, and again to inhale the tarry scent of the warm wood-paving, which was perfume to his nostrils as the din of its traffic was music to his ears, before we came to one of those political palaces which permit themselves to be included in the list of ordinary clubs."
- "She had also forgotten both diet and protocol as she joined Sven in guzzling large cokes, practically inhaling fries and gravy, and rounding off the meal with double malts."
- "Now have client take slower, normal breaths through the nose and notice how the abdomen moves slightly outward with each inhale and then deflates with each exhale."
Etymology
From Latin inhalare (“to breathe on (breathe in)”), from in (“in, into, on”) + halare (“to breathe”).
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂enh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪnˈheɪl/
- British English: /ɪnˈheɪl/