What does expectorate mean?
"Expectorate" is a formal verb meaning to cough or spit out phlegm, mucus, or saliva from the throat or lungs through the mouth. It derives from the Latin ex- ("out") combined with pectus/pector-, meaning "chest" or "breast," so it literally describes driving matter out of the chest — an etymology that explains why the word feels at home in medical contexts. Physicians may ask patients to expectorate into a specimen cup, and pharmacology preserves related terms such as "expectorant," describing medicines that help clear mucus from the airways. Outside medicine, "expectorate" tends to sound either stiffly clinical or wryly humorous, since everyday speakers simply say "spit" or "cough up." A closely resembling word, "expatriate," has nothing to do with it: that verb concerns leaving one's country, not clearing one's throat. The noun forms are "expectoration" (the act) and "expectorant" (the remedy).
verbTo cough or spit out (phlegm, saliva, or other matter) from the mouth; more generally, to eject from the throat or lungs.
- To cough or spit out phlegm, mucus, or saliva from the throat or lungs through the mouth.
- More broadly (and less commonly), to discharge or eject any substance from the mouth or throat.
"The doctor asked the patient to expectorate into the sterile container so the sample could be tested."
"Tuberculosis patients were once instructed to expectorate into handkerchiefs so physicians could examine the sputum."
"The boxer spat out his mouthguard and expectorated a mouthful of water before returning to the ring."
Despite sounding like a polite medical term for spitting, "expectorate" comes straight from the Latin for "driving out of the chest" — making it one of the few English verbs with lungs built into its etymology.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of expectorate
"Expectorate" entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed from the Latin verb expectorare, formed from ex- ("out of") and pector-, the stem of pectus, meaning "chest." The original sense was literally to drive something out from the chest or lungs. The same Latin root pectus underlies "pectoral" (relating to the chest), and the derived noun "expectoration" and adjective-derived "expectorant" joined English shortly after. The word's resemblance to "expatriate," from Latin patria ("fatherland"), is purely coincidental.
Related word forms
How expectorate is actually used
"Expectorate" belongs chiefly to formal, medical, and clinical registers; in everyday speech people almost always say "spit" or "cough up." The word carries a faintly euphemistic or jocular tone when used outside a medical setting. It is transitive when an object is named (expectorate phlegm) and can also be used intransitively (he turned aside to expectorate).
Easily confused with expectorate
"Expatriate" means to leave one's native country or live abroad, while "expectorate" means to spit out matter from the mouth — the words look and sound similar but share no meaning.