Library / English Dictionary

RESPIRATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic molecules; processes that take place in the cells and tissues during which energy is released and carbon dioxide is produced and absorbed by the blood to be transported to the lungs

Synonyms:

cellular respiration; internal respiration; respiration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("respiration" is a kind of...):

metabolic process; metabolism (the organic processes (in a cell or organism) that are necessary for life)

Derivation:

respire (undergo the biomedical and metabolic processes of respiration by taking up oxygen and producing carbon monoxide)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation

Synonyms:

breathing; external respiration; respiration; ventilation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("respiration" is a kind of...):

activity; bodily function; bodily process; body process (an organic process that takes place in the body)

Meronyms (parts of "respiration"):

breathing out; exhalation; expiration (the act of expelling air from the lungs)

aspiration; breathing in; inhalation; inspiration; intake (the act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "respiration"):

artificial respiration (an emergency procedure whereby breathing is maintained artificially)

abdominal breathing (breathing in which most of the respiratory effort is done by the abdominal muscles)

eupnea; eupnoea (normal relaxed breathing)

hyperpnea (energetic (deep and rapid) respiration that occurs normally after exercise or abnormally with fever or various disorders)

hypopnea (slow or shallow breathing)

hyperventilation (an increased depth and rate of breathing greater than demanded by the body needs; can cause dizziness and tingling of the fingers and toes and chest pain if continued)

heaving; panting (breathing heavily (as after exertion))

Cheyne-Stokes respiration; periodic breathing (abnormal respiration in which periods of shallow and deep breathing alternate)

smoke; smoking (the act of smoking tobacco or other substances)

snore; snoring; stertor (the act of snoring or producing a snoring sound)

sniffle; snivel; snuffle (the act of breathing heavily through the nose (as when the nose is congested))

wheeze (breathing with a husky or whistling sound)

second wind (the return of relatively easy breathing after initial exhaustion during continuous exertion)

Derivation:

respire (draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs)

respire (undergo the biomedical and metabolic processes of respiration by taking up oxygen and producing carbon monoxide)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A single complete act of breathing in and out

Example:

thirty respirations per minute

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("respiration" is a kind of...):

activity; bodily function; bodily process; body process (an organic process that takes place in the body)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He was sleeping soundly, and his heart rose and fell with regular respiration.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A valve designed to allow the escape of exhaled gases from a respirator or respiration system.

(Exhalation Valve Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Patients with breathing difficulties may need artificial respiration.

(Encephalitis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

The study sought to find if infants and very young children are at increased risk from passive tobacco smoke exposure given their higher respiration rates and likely contact with surface residues.

(Infants, Toddlers at More Risk from Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke than Thought, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This gene plays a role in cellular respiration.

(NDUFV1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

PGC-1a has been implicated in mitochondrial biogenesis in the heart and increased mitochondrial respiration in brown fat.

(PGC1a Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Cyanothece photosynthesize during the day, converting sunlight to the chemical energy they use as fuel, and fix nitrogen at night, after removing most of the oxygen created during photosynthesis through respiration.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Also called aerobic respiration, cell respiration, and oxidative metabolism.

(Aerobic metabolism, NCI Dictionary)

One of a pair of viscera occupying the pulmonary cavities of the thorax, the organs of respiration in which aeration of the blood takes place.

(Lung, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein is involved in both glutamine metabolism and cellular respiration.

(Glutaminase Liver Isoform, Mitochondrial, NCI Thesaurus)