breather

American  

[bree-ther] / ˈbri ðər /

noun

1. a pause, as for breath.

   Synonyms:

   intermission, recess, timeout, break, rest

2. vigorous exercise that causes heavy breathing. breathe.

3. a person who breathes.

4. a vent in a container or covering, as in a casing for machinery or in a storage tank, to equalize interior and exterior pressure, permit entry of air, escape of fumes, or the like.

5. a device for providing air from the atmosphere to submerged or otherwise sealed-off persons, internal-combustion engines, etc..

   the snorkel breather of a submarine.

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breather British  

/ ˈbriːðə /

noun

1. informal a short pause for rest

2. a person who breathes in a specified way

   a deep breather

3. a vent in a container to equalize internal and external pressure, such as the pipe in the crankcase of an internal-combustion engine

4. a small opening in a room, container, cover, etc, supplying air for ventilation

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Etymology

Origin of breather

First recorded in 1350–1400, breather is from the Middle English word brethere. See breathe, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Following back-to-back seasons of directing his own productions, Desai is taking a breather this go-around to focus on broader administrative duties.

From Los Angeles Times

The stock prices have taken a breather in the past couple of months because there is a fear of peak capex as software becomes increasingly tokenized, and as labor becomes tokenized.

From Barron's

"But the government will have a breather for a couple of weeks, to save some energy."

From Barron's

Into that hole she and Ms. Andrade will plunge—after, naturally, a sauna—and begin Ms. Andrade’s training as an endurance swimmer and endurance breather.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The first step is for me to kind of take a breather after the pace that I’ve been running for seven years,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• lull
• respite