Expectorate: meaning, definitions and examples

Formal medical or scientific setting to describe the action of expelling phlegm or mucus from the throat or lungs.

• Patients are advised to expectorate into a tissue when they have a respiratory infection.
• The doctor asked him to expectorate into a sample cup for testing.

Everyday use for expelling something from the mouth, often food or unwanted substances.

• He tasted the spoiled milk and immediately spit it out.
• The child accidentally swallowed a bug and quickly spit it out.

Informal situation to describe the action of forcefully expelling something from the throat, often phlegm.

• He had a bad cold and kept coughing up mucus all night.
• After inhaling smoke, she had to cough up the irritants from her lungs.

General use for forcefully removing or expelling something from within, not necessarily related to the body.

• The pilot had to eject from the malfunctioning aircraft.
• The player was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Repeated entry

Use in casual or informal conversation when referring to forcing something out of the lungs by coughing.

• He had a bad cold and kept coughing up mucus

Use in everyday conversation when talking about quickly expelling something from the mouth. Can also have a negative or rude connotation.

• She tasted the spoiled milk and immediately spit it out

Use in general or technical settings when talking about forcefully removing or pushing out something from a container or body.

• The machine is designed to eject the waste materials automatically