transpire
transpire Lexical Profile
transpire Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To occur, happen, or take place.
"The committee is still investigating what exactly transpired during the final minutes of the meeting."
To become known, revealed, or apparent (of a secret or previously unknown fact).
"It later transpired that the documents had been misfiled months before the audit began."
To give off water vapor or moisture through pores or stomata (especially of a living plant or leaf).
"Desert succulents have thick, waxy skins to minimize the amount of water they transpire during the heat of the day."
Word Nuance & Usage
Traditionally, 'transpire' meant only for a secret or unknown fact to leak out and become known; although its broader use to mean simply 'to happen' or 'to occur' was once criticized by usage purists, both senses are now fully accepted in standard English.
• Rhymes for transpire
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from Middle French transpirer or Medieval Latin transpirare ('to breathe through'), formed from Latin trans- ('through') and spirare ('to breathe'), originally referring to the escape of vapor through pores.