Definition of "perspire" [per•spire]

• To excrete perspiration through the pores of the skin. (verb-intransitive)
• To expel through external pores; exude. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "Madame Schwellenberg began to storm in bad English, and told him that he made her "what you call perspire!""
• "In a season of throw-backs, you can add this to the list: Just as our grandmothers insisted that girls don't sweat, they "perspire," there remains a narrow range of acceptable behavior for female athletes."
• "Plants that live in swamps must "perspire" freely and keep their pores open."