respiratory

respiratory — adjective

1. connected with the process of taking air into and out of the lungs.

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with the process of taking air into and out of the lungs.

Example

The patient was admitted with severe respiratory problems after the forest fire.

collocation: respiratory problems

Jiwoo's doctor referred her to a respiratory specialist for her chronic cough.

collocation: respiratory specialist

Common collocations
  • respiratory system
  • respiratory disease
  • respiratory infection
  • respiratory problems
  • respiratory tract
  • respiratory failure
  • respiratory symptoms
  • respiratory specialist
Synonyms
  • breathing

    everyday informal equivalent; 'breathing problems' vs. 'respiratory problems' — the latter sounds clinical

  • pulmonary

    narrower — refers specifically to the lungs, while respiratory covers the entire breathing tract (nose, throat, airways, lungs)

Grammar Patterns

respiratory + noun (system / disease / infection / problem)

Usage Note

Respiratory is almost always used attributively (before a noun). Unlike the everyday word breathing, it belongs to formal and medical English. You cannot say ✗ 'His condition is respiratory' — instead say 'He has a respiratory condition.'

Common Mistakes

He was taken to the hospital with a respiratory.
He was taken to the hospital with a respiratory infection.
respiratory is an adjective; it must modify a noun.
The doctor checked his respiration system.
The doctor checked his respiratory system.
'respiratory' is the adjective form; 'respiration' is the noun.

Word family

  • respiration
    nounB2
  • respirator
    nounC1
  • respire
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Respiratory is the standard medical term for anything involving the process of breathing. Breathing is the everyday, non-technical word — you would say 'breathing exercises' in a yoga class, but 'respiratory therapy' in a hospital. Pulmonary is narrower and refers specifically to the lungs themselves: a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in the lung, whereas a respiratory infection can affect the nose, throat, airways, or lungs. Use respiratory when you want a formal, clinical tone that covers the entire breathing system; use breathing for casual conversation; and use pulmonary only when the lungs alone are the focus.

breathingpulmonary ↗respiratory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • acute respiratory infection
  • chronic respiratory disease
  • upper respiratory tract
  • lower respiratory tract

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin respirare, made up of re- ('again') and spirare ('to breathe, blow'). The literal sense is 'to breathe again,' which evolved into the modern medical meaning of anything connected with the action of breathing.