expectorate
/ɪkˈspɛktəɹeɪt/verb
expectorate is spelled E-X-P-E-C-T-O-R-A-T-E: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 74 million words in written English, the 272,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, expectorate means “To cough up fluid from the lungs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expectorate?
| Letters | 11: E-X-P-E-C-T-O-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 74 million words; the 272,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is expectorate?
Expectorate appears about once in every 74 million words in written English, the 272,462nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce expectorate?
- /ɪkˈspɛktəɹeɪt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-expectorate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of expectorate
- expectorates present, singular, he/she/it
- expectorating participle, present
- expectorated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expectorate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cough up fluid from the lungs.
- 2
To spit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expectorate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to cough up fluid from the lungs:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | expectorer |
| Portuguese | expectorar |
| Spanish | expectorar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does expectorate come from?
From Latin expectorātus, past participle of expectorō (“(only figurative) banish from the mind; (post-classical) expel from the breast)”), from ex (“out of”) + pectus (“the breast”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).