- present participle of breathe.
breathing
Americannoun
-
the act of a person or other animal that breathes; respiration.
-
a single breath.
-
the short time required for a single breath.
-
a pause, as for breath.
-
utterance or words.
-
a gentle moving or blowing, as of wind.
-
Classical Greek Grammar.
-
the manner of articulating the beginning of a word written with an initial vowel sign, with or without aspiration before the vowel.
-
one of the two symbols used to indicate this.
-
noun
-
the passage of air into and out of the lungs to supply the body with oxygen
-
a single breath
a breathing between words
-
an utterance
a breathing of hate
-
a soft movement, esp of air
-
a rest or pause
-
phonetics
-
expulsion of breath ( rough breathing ) or absence of such expulsion ( smooth breathing ) preceding the pronunciation of an initial vowel or rho in ancient Greek
-
either of two symbols indicating this
-
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of breathing
First recorded in 1350–1400, breathing is from the Middle English word brethynge. See breathe, -ing 1
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.
Inflation also has gotten some breathing room from sluggish wages and U.S. home prices.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
At the final whistle, the exhausted world champions fell to the turf, crushed by the heat and breathing a collective sigh of relief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
The readings suggested the labour market was not as strong as previously thought, and gives the Fed some breathing room to hold off an expected rate hike for now.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
"Freedom was a huge priority. Living the next day, breathing next day, was a big, big issue, and I really wanted that," he said, explaining why he had wanted to move to the US.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
But it was another sound that turned my blood to water: the strangling, grating rasp of Mary’s breathing.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
