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apnoea

British  
/ æpˈnɪə /

noun

  1. a temporary inability to breathe

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of apnoea

C18: from New Latin, from Greek apnoia, from a- 1 + pnein to breathe

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cardiologists use them to help patients shed weight before procedures such as angioplasty, orthopaedic surgeons to ease stress on joints before knee surgery, and chest physicians to treat conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

GLP-1 drugs were originally developed for diabetes but research has suggested they could help with an expanding range of health problems including heart disease, sleep apnoea and even addiction.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

Medically, that would improve health in areas like heart attack risk, sleep apnoea and type 2 diabetes.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2024

Apart from its association with cancer, some genic variants of the Alex3 protein and its genic family are also related to neurodegenerative diseases -- especially Parkinson's -- , sleep apnoea and metabolic diseases.

From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2024

When the temperature is at about 16� C., the periods of apnoea in the gradually awaking animal are very short and infrequent.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

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