expectorate

IPA/ɪkˈspektəreɪt/
IPA/ɪkˈspektəreɪt/

expectorate — verb

  • expectoratepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • expectorateshe / she / it
  • expectoratedpast simple
  • expectorating-ing form

1. to cough mucus or other fluid out after it rises from your chest or throat.

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to cough mucus or other fluid out after it rises from your chest or throat.

Example

After the breathing test, Emre expectorated mucus into a paper cup.

expectorate + mucus into [container]

The nurse asked Yael to expectorate so the lab could test the sample.

formal medical request: ask [person] to expectorate

Common collocations
  • expectorate mucus
  • expectorate blood
  • expectorate into a cup
Synonyms
  • cough up

    the usual everyday phrase for bringing mucus or blood out of the chest

  • spit out

    broader and less medical; can refer to food or liquid from the mouth

  • hawk

    informal and noisier, often suggesting throat-clearing before spitting

Antonyms
  • swallow

    to move liquid or other material down the throat instead of expelling it

Grammar Patterns

expectorate + [mucus/phlegm/blood]

expectorate into + [container]

Usage Note

Usually used in medical or formal contexts. Common objects are mucus, phlegm, blood, or sputum, while everyday English often uses cough up or spit instead.

Common Mistakes

The doctor told him to expectorate in the cup.
The doctor told him to expectorate into the cup.
This verb usually takes 'into' before the container receiving the material.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For this sense, expectorate is much more formal than cough up or spit out. Doctors use expectorate when they want precise language for material coming from the lungs or throat, especially during illness or testing. Cough up is the everyday choice when someone brings up mucus or blood after coughing. Spit out is broader and can describe pushing food or liquid from the mouth, even when the chest is not involved. Hawk usually suggests a noisy clearing of the throat before spitting. In a clinic, a nurse may ask a patient to expectorate into a cup, but at home most people would say they coughed up some mucus.

cough up ↗spit out ↗hawk ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • expectorate mucus
  • expectorate phlegm
  • expectorate blood

Phrases

  • expectorate into a cup

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Expectorate came into English from Latin expectorare, literally meaning 'drive out from the chest'. It is built from ex-, meaning 'out', and pectus, meaning 'chest'. The modern medical sense keeps that image of forcing mucus or other material up from the chest so it can leave through the mouth.