Standard Lemma guide

inhale

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ɪnˈheɪl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪl
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N HH EY1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An inhalation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To draw air into the lungs, through the nose or mouth by action of the diaphragm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: breathe in, inbreathe, inspire

Antonyms: breathe out, outbreathe, exhale, expire

3

verb

Meaning 3

To draw air or any form of gas (either in a pure form, or mixed with small particles in the form of aerosols/smoke, sometimes stemming from a medicament) into the lungs, through the nose or mouth by action of the diaphragm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: breathe in, inbreathe, inspire, fetch

Antonyms: breathe out, outbreathe, exhale

4

verb

Meaning 4

To eat very quickly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

draw in (air)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Inhale deeply
  • inhale the fresh mountain air
  • The patient has trouble inspiring
  • The lung cancer patient cannot inspire air very well

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inspire, breathe in

Antonyms: exhale

Broader terms: breathe, take a breath, respire, suspire

Narrower terms: aspirate, sniff, sniffle, snuffle, snivel, snuff, puff, drag, draw, huff, snort

6

verb

Meaning 6

draw deep into the lungs in by breathing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Clinton smoked marijuana but never inhaled

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: smoke

History

Etymology

From Latin inhalare (“to breathe on (breathe in)”), from in (“in, into, on”) + halare (“to breathe”).

Across languages

Translations

122 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: شَهَقَ (šahaqa) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Armenian: ներշնչել (neršnčʻel) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Assamese: উশাহ লোৱা (uxah lüa) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Asturian: inspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Asturian: aspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Belarusian: удыха́ць (udyxácʹ) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Belarusian: удыхну́ць (udyxnúcʹ) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Bulgarian: вди́швам (vdíšvam) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Bulgarian: вди́шам (vdíšam) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Catalan: inhalar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Chinese Cantonese: 吸氣 /吸气 (kap1 hei3) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸氣 /吸气 (xīqì) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸入 (xīrù) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Czech: nadechnout se — to draw air into the lungs
  • Danish: inhalere — to draw air into the lungs
  • Dutch: inademen — to draw air into the lungs
  • Esperanto: enspiri — to draw air into the lungs
  • Finnish: hengittää sisään — to draw air into the lungs
  • French: inspirer — to draw air into the lungs
  • Galician: aspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Galician: inspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Galician: inhalar — to draw air into the lungs
  • German: einatmen — to draw air into the lungs
  • Greek: εισπνέω (eispnéo) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Ancient Greek: εἰσπνέω (eispnéō) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Hebrew: שָׁאַף (shaáf) — to draw air into the lungs
  • White Hmong: qus pa — to draw air into the lungs
  • Hungarian: belélegzik — to draw air into the lungs
  • Ido: aspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Italian: inspirare — to draw air into the lungs
  • Italian: inalare — to draw air into the lungs
  • Japanese: 吸い込む (suikomu) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Japanese: 吸入する (kyūnyū suru) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Khmer: ស្រូប (sroup) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Korean: 흡입하다 (heubiphada) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Korean: 빨아들이다 (pparadeurida) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Northern Kurdish: henase girtin — to draw air into the lungs
  • Macedonian: вдишува (vdišuva) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Macedonian: вдише (vdiše) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Māori: whakaea — to draw air into the lungs
  • Māori: whakangā — to draw air into the lungs
  • Māori: mote — to draw air into the lungs
  • Nepali: श्वास तान्नु (śvās tānnu) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Norwegian Bokmål: inhalere — to draw air into the lungs
  • Norwegian Bokmål: innånde — to draw air into the lungs
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: inhalere — to draw air into the lungs
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: inhalera — to draw air into the lungs
  • Polish: wdychać — to draw air into the lungs
  • Portuguese: inalar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Portuguese: inspirar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Romanian: inspira — to draw air into the lungs
  • Romanian: inhala — to draw air into the lungs
  • Russian: вдыха́ть (vdyxátʹ) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Russian: вдохну́ть (vdoxnútʹ) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Serbo-Croatian: у̀дисати — to draw air into the lungs
  • Serbo-Croatian: уда̀хнути — to draw air into the lungs
  • Serbo-Croatian: ùdisati — to draw air into the lungs
  • Serbo-Croatian: udàhnuti — to draw air into the lungs
  • Slovak: nadýchnuť sa — to draw air into the lungs
  • Slovak: vdychovať — to draw air into the lungs
  • Slovak: vdýchnuť — to draw air into the lungs
  • Slovene: vdihovati — to draw air into the lungs
  • Slovene: vdihniti — to draw air into the lungs
  • Spanish: inhalar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Spanish: alentar — to draw air into the lungs
  • Swedish: andas in — to draw air into the lungs
  • Telugu: ఉచ్ఛ్వాసించు (ucchvāsiñcu) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Thai: หายใจเข้า (hǎai-jai-kâo) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Ukrainian: вдиха́ти (vdyxáty) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Ukrainian: вдихну́ти (vdyxnúty) — to draw air into the lungs
  • Vietnamese: hít — to draw air into the lungs
  • Welsh: anadlu i mewn — to draw air into the lungs
  • Welsh: mewnanadlu — to draw air into the lungs
  • Zazaki: nefes anten — to draw air into the lungs
  • Zhuang: cup heiq — to draw air into the lungs
  • Bulgarian: инхали́рам (inhalíram) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Catalan: inhalar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Catalan: aspirar inspirar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Chinese Cantonese: 吸 (kap1) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸 (xī) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸入 (xīrù) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Esperanto: inhali — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Finnish: hengittää — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Finnish: vetää henkeen — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Finnish: inhaloida — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • French: aspirer — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • French: inhaler — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Galician: inhalar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • German: inhalieren — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: belélegez — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: beszív — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: felszippant — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: magába szív — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: belehel — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Hungarian: inhalál — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Italian: inalare — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Polish: inhalować — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Polish: wziewać — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Polish: wdychać — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Portuguese: inalar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Romanian: aspira — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Romanian: inhala — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Russian: вдыха́ть (vdyxátʹ) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Russian: вдохну́ть (vdoxnútʹ) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Slovak: vdychovať — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Slovak: vdýchnuť — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Spanish: aspirar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Spanish: inhalar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Spanish: inspirar — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Telugu: పీల్చు (pīlcu) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Thai: สูด (sùut) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Thai: ดม (dom) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Welsh: anadlu i mewn (rhywbeth) — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Zazaki: nefes pıfen — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Zhuang: cup — to draw something into the nose or lungs
  • Finnish: ahmia — to eat fast
  • French: ingurgiter — to eat fast
  • Galician: devorar — to eat fast
  • Hungarian: magába töm — to eat fast
  • Hungarian: felfal — to eat fast
  • Hungarian: befal — to eat fast
  • Hungarian: fal — to eat fast