Definition of "respiration" []

• The act or process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing. Also called ventilation. (noun)
• The act or process by which an organism without lungs, such as a fish or plant, exchanges gases with its environment. (noun)
• The oxidative process occurring within living cells by which the chemical energy of organic molecules is released in a series of metabolic steps involving the consumption of oxygen and the liberation of carbon dioxide and water. (noun)
• Any of various analogous metabolic processes by which certain organisms, such as fungi and anaerobic bacteria, obtain energy from organic molecules. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term respiration is frequently restricted to the mere inhalation and expiration of air from the lungs, but more generally it is employed to designate the whole series of phenomena which occur in these organs."
• "Even the girl's breathing was poorly acted, and that's the first time I have seen a failure in "respiration" acting."
• "Given that most of the people they serve are elderly and home-bound with difficulty in respiration, it would be best to argue for the Medicaid in terms of humanity rather than its economic effect."