Meaning & use
inhalation
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of drawing air or another gas into your lungs through your nose or mouth.
Grammar: Countable for one breath in (a deep inhalation), uncountable for the process in general (damage caused by inhalation).
Patterns
- inhalation of something
- an inhalation of something
A slow, deep inhalation helped her calm down before the speech.
Inhalation of smoke is the main danger in a house fire.
The yoga teacher counted four seconds for each inhalation.
noununcountablemedical
A way of taking medicine by breathing in a vapor, spray or fine powder.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: an inhalation device.
Patterns
- treatment by inhalation
- inhalation therapy
The doctor prescribed an inhalation treatment for his asthma.
Steam inhalation can ease a blocked nose.
The drug is given by inhalation rather than as a tablet.
Word forms
| plural | inhalations |
|---|
Common combinations
- deep inhalation
- A deep inhalation filled his lungs with cold air.
- smoke inhalation
- The firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.
- steam inhalation
- Steam inhalation helped with her cough.
- inhalation of fumes
- Inhalation of fumes can cause dizziness.
- inhalation and exhalation
- Inhalation and exhalation should be slow and even.
Synonyms and how they differ
- breath
- Everyday and general; it can also mean air going out, whereas inhalation always means breathing in.
- inspiration
- A technical medical word for breathing in, rarely used in ordinary speech, and also meaning creative stimulus.
- intake
- Refers to the amount taken in, such as intake of oxygen, rather than the act itself.
Opposites
Word family
- inhale verb
- to breathe air or smoke in
- inhaler noun
- a device for breathing in medicine
- inhaled adjective
- taken in through breathing
- exhalation noun
- the act of breathing out
Commonly confused: inhalation or exhalation?
inhalation vs exhalation
Exhalation is breathing out, the opposite of inhalation. The prefix in- versus ex- shows the direction.
Practice
The nurse told him to hold each ___ for two seconds before breathing out slowly.
Choose one answer.
You hold air in after breathing in, so 'inhalation' fits. 'Exhalation' is the breathing out that comes next.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inhalation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.