What does bronchodilator mean?
A bronchodilator is a medication designed to widen the air passages of the lungs by relaxing the smooth muscle that surrounds them, thereby improving airflow and relieving breathlessness. Bronchodilators are central to the treatment of obstructive lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They fall into two broad practical classes: short-acting drugs like albuterol (salbutamol), which provide rapid relief during an acute attack, and long-acting agents used regularly to keep airways open and prevent symptoms. Most are delivered by inhaler or nebuliser so that the drug acts directly on the lungs, though some are available orally. The word derives from Greek 'bronchos' (windpipe) and Latin 'dilatare' (to widen), making it a precise descriptive term: literally, something that spreads the windpipes open. It is a formal medical term, common in clinical practice, pharmacy labelling, and health reporting, and is typically paired with modifiers describing how quickly it works or how it is administered.
nounA drug that widens the bronchi and bronchioles of the lungs, relaxing the surrounding smooth muscle to make breathing easier; used chiefly in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- A medication or agent that relaxes the muscles of the bronchial passages, causing them to widen and easing airflow into the lungs.
"The doctor prescribed a fast-acting bronchodilator for the patient to carry at all times in case of an asthma attack."
"Rescue inhalers contain a short-acting bronchodilator such as salbutamol, which opens the airways within minutes."
"For patients with COPD, physicians often combine an inhaled corticosteroid with a long-acting bronchodilator taken daily."
Standard regular plural; commonly used when discussing classes or combinations of these drugs.
"Long-acting bronchodilators are often prescribed alongside inhaled steroids."
The same word that names a life-saving inhaler drug is built from two ancient roots — Greek 'bronchos' for windpipe and Latin 'dilatare' meaning 'to spread wide' — literally, 'windpipe-widener.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bronchodilator
The word bronchodilator is a modern medical coinage built from two classical roots: the Greek 'brónchos', meaning windpipe or throat, which also gives us bronchi, bronchitis, and bronchial, and the Latin 'dilatare', meaning to spread out or widen, the source of English dilate. It emerged in nineteenth-century medical writing as pharmacology developed agents capable of opening constricted airways, following the pattern of other Latin-Greek hybrid terms typical of scientific vocabulary.
How bronchodilator is actually used
Bronchodilator is a technical medical term used in clinical settings, patient information leaflets, and health journalism; it belongs to formal rather than everyday register. It is almost always used attributively with qualifiers indicating speed of action (short-acting, long-acting, fast-acting) or route of delivery (inhaled, oral).
Easily confused with bronchodilator
Corticosteroids reduce airway inflammation over time, whereas bronchodilators work immediately by physically widening the airways through muscle relaxation.