breathe
to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire.
(in speech) to control the outgoing breath in producing voice and speech sounds.
to pause, as for breath or rest: How about giving me a chance to breathe?
to move gently or blow lightly, as air.
to be redolent or suggestive: a poem breathing of the sights and sounds of a rustic life.
(of a material) to allow air and moisture to pass through easily: The jacket is comfortable because the fabric breathes.
(of the skin) to absorb oxygen and give off perspiration.
(of a wine) to be exposed to air after being uncorked, in order to develop flavor and bouquet.
to inhale and exhale in respiration.
to exhale: Dragons breathe fire.
Idioms about breathe
breathe down someone's neck,
to watch someone closely so as to supervise or control: If everyone keeps breathing down my neck, how can I get my work done?
breathe freely, to have relief from anxiety, tension, or pressure: Now that the crisis was over, he could breathe freely.: Also breathe easily, breathe easy.
breathe one's last, to die: He breathed his last and was buried in the churchyard.
not breathe a word / syllable, to maintain secrecy; keep a matter confidential: I'll tell you if you promise not to breathe a word.
Origin of breathe
1Other words for breathe
Other words from breathe
- out·breathe, verb (used with object), out·breathed, out·breath·ing.
- pre·breathe, verb (used with object), pre·breathed, pre·breath·ing.
Words that may be confused with breathe
Words Nearby breathe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use breathe in a sentence
You can find chemicals in the soil under your feet, in the food you eat and in the air you breathe.
Twelve of the 26, including two of the four with signs of inflamed hearts, reported mild symptoms during their infection, such as fever, sore throat, muscle aches and difficulty breathing.
College athletes show signs of possible heart injury after COVID-19 | Aimee Cunningham | September 11, 2020 | Science NewsI keep thinking it can’t get any harder to breathe, and somehow it still does.
In the future, there’ll probably be plenty of opportunities to breathe on each other again.
The safest ways to exercise during a pandemic | Sara Kiley Watson | September 9, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe less that people can breathe into each other’s faces, the better.
Here’s how COVID-19 is changing classes this year | Bethany Brookshire | September 8, 2020 | Science News For Students
“But I could breathe freely only when the plane took off,” she told me.
I could not breathe.... When I would pass out, they would shake me and begin again.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built | Michael Daly | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJUDNICK: My reaction is so visceral that I immediately, like you, isolate myself so I can breathe.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting | Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's amazing to think that someone in another country might provide you with 140 characters that allow you to breathe.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting | Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe time for remorse was when my husband was yelling to breathe!
‘I Can’t Breathe!’ ‘I Can’t Breathe!’ A Moral Indictment of Cop Culture | Michael Daly | December 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMen's lives are as thoroughly blended with each other as the air they breathe: evil spreads as necessarily as disease.
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouStill, if such an envelope should be handed him, he would breathe easier until it was opened.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxA dead silence followed; for a minute—several minutes neither seemed to breathe.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuHe makes a spiritual form of it so perfectly visible to your inward eye, that it seems as if you could almost hear it breathe!
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayAt last two are successful, and the monster, hardly able to breathe, stands quiet and still.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade
British Dictionary definitions for breathe
/ (briːð) /
to take in oxygen from (the surrounding medium, esp air) and give out carbon dioxide; respire
(intr) to exist; be alive: every animal that breathes on earth
(intr) to rest to regain breath, composure, etc: stop your questions, and give me a chance to breathe
(intr) (esp of air) to blow lightly: the wind breathed through the trees
(intr) machinery
to take in air, esp for combustion: the engine breathes through this air filter
to equalize the pressure within a container, chamber, etc, with atmospheric pressure: the crankcase breathes through this duct
(tr) phonetics to articulate (a speech sound) without vibration of the vocal cords: Compare voice (def. 19)
to exhale or emit: the dragon breathed fire
(tr) to impart; instil: to breathe confidence into the actors
(tr) to speak softly; whisper: to breathe words of love
(tr) to permit to rest: to breathe a horse
(intr) (of a material) to allow air to pass through so that perspiration can evaporate
breathe again, breathe freely or breathe easily to feel relief: I could breathe again after passing the exam
breathe down someone's neck to stay close to someone, esp to oversee what they are doing: the cops are breathing down my neck
breathe one's last to die or be finished or defeated
Origin of breathe
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with breathe
In addition to the idioms beginning with breathe
- breathe down someone's neck
- breathe easy
- breathe life into
- breathe one's last
also see:
- as I live and breathe
- breathing space
- not breathe a word
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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