expectoration

Variant of expectorate

transitive verb, intransitive verb expectorated, expectorating

  1. to cough up and spit out (phlegm, mucus, etc.)
  2. to spit

Origin: < L expectoratus, pp. of expectorare, to expel from the breast < ex-, out + pectus (gen. pectoris), breast

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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