ENGLISH
REFERENCE

inhale

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˌɪnˈheɪɫ// UK //ɪnhˈeɪl// in·hale

v. to breathe air, smoke, or gas into your lungs. You use this when talking about breathing or sometimes when someone eats food very quickly.

v. to draw air or other substances into the lungs through the respiratory tract. Often used figuratively in informal contexts to describe consuming food with extreme haste.


SIMPLE

Take a deep breath and inhale slowly.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor asked the patient to inhale deeply while she listened to his chest with a stethoscope.

COMPLEX

Safety protocols require all laboratory staff to wear masks to ensure they do not accidentally inhale toxic fumes during the chemical synthesis process.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Latin inhalare (“to breathe on (breathe in)”), from in (“in, into, on”) + halare (“to breathe”).

Usage

The verb can be used both transitively and intransitively.

Pitfall

He inhaled to the smoke.He inhaled the smoke.When used with an object, inhale is transitive and does not require a preposition like 'to' or 'at'.

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