out of breath

Idioms  

1. Breathing with difficulty, panting, gasping. For example, After five flights of stairs I'm out of breath. This slightly hyperbolic term (since literally running out of breath means one is dead) dates from the late 1500s. Also see catch one's breath.

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Example Sentences

I don't feel myself, I can't do anything and it is not normal for me to be out of breath all of the time'.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

He jumped at the chance to speak in their local dialect, joking that his north Wales family always sounded like they were "running out of breath".

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

I wanted people to notice that it sounds like she’s getting out of breath.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024

By the time I got to Gate 40, I was giddy from shock and out of breath.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2024

Clare, who’d finally run out of breath, clung to Captain’s stem, his furry chest heaving.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman