What does "transpiration" mean?

The loss of water by evaporation in terrestrial plants, especially through the stomata; accompanied by a corresponding uptake from the roots.

Transpiration

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The loss of water by evaporation in terrestrial plants, especially through the stomata; accompanied by a corresponding uptake from the roots. countable, uncountable
2
the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants wordnet
3
The process of giving off water vapour through the skin or mucous membranes. countable, uncountable
4
the passage of gases through fine tubes because of differences in pressure or temperature wordnet
5
The passage of gases through fine tubes. countable, uncountable

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6
the process of giving off or exhaling water vapor through the skin or mucous membranes wordnet

"Evapotranspiration is the sum of all processes by which water moves from the land surface to the atmosphere via evaporation and transpiration."

Borrowed from Middle French transpiration, from Medieval Latin transpiratio, from transpiro, from Latin trans + spiro.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.