perspire

/pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/

//pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"perspire" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perspire” is uncommon English (frequency #95,263 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,263
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To emit (sweat or perspiration) through the skin's pores.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perspire · perspire · English

perspire · rank #95,263 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,263
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Petrenko

Nearest frequency peer: Petrenko (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “perspire”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “perspire” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perspire
PropertyValue
Headwordperspire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/
Letters8
Frequency rank#95,263
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perspire” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).perspirefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Petrenko” (#95,264), “persecutor” (#95,261), “phentermine” (#95,265). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perspire” is #95,263. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perspire is uncommon English at frequency #95,263 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for perspire, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French perspirer and its source Latin perspīrō (“to breathe everywhere, blow constantly”), from per (“through”) + spīrō (“to breathe”); see spirit. The correct English form is perspire, spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To emit (sweat or perspiration) through the skin's pores.
  2. 2
    To be evacuated or excreted, or to exude, through the pores of the skin.
  3. 3
    To cause (someone) to sweat.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how perspire appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I was perspiring freely after running the marathon.
  2. He lists forty reasons, mainly metaphorical, why Christ perspired blood, and his peroration takes twenty-two pages in print.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French perspirer and its source Latin perspīrō (“to breathe everywhere, blow constantly”), from per (“through”) + spīrō (“to breathe”); see spirit.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "perspire"?
"perspire" is spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "perspire" mean?
As a verb, "perspire" means: To emit (sweat or perspiration) through the skin's pores.
How do you pronounce "perspire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perspire" is /pəˈspaɪə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "perspire"?
Borrowed from Middle French perspirer and its source Latin perspīrō (“to breathe everywhere, blow constantly”), from per (“through”) + spīrō (“to breathe”); see spirit. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "perspire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Petrenko#95,264playland#95,274plopping#95,276pashmina#95,243

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list