breathe
verb (used without object)
to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire.
has been breathing
-
present perfect progressiveof breathe (3rd person singular).present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
Since then, he has been breathing with the help of a tracheostomy tube and is fed through a gastrostomy tube.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Since the early 2000s the co-op has been breathing life back into miles of the Smokehouse tidal channels and salt marsh on the Swinomish reservation, by dredging and using tide gates.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
It’s to get him through a corner faster that the guy whose exhaust fumes he has been breathing.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 22, 2018
“They’re both cold but with warm hearts,” says Irina Novikova, president of Yaroslavl’s Russian-American Friendship Society, which has been breathing new life into the relationship with Burlington in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2016
I think she has been breathing too much hairspray.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
