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

See Examples For:

out of breath

Within 10 minutes, he was drenched with sweat and out of breath.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

I hear my 5-year-old son proudly exclaim, nearly out of breath.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

AQ points are earned whenever physical activity raises your heart rate enough to make you slightly out of breath.

From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026

"Travelling abroad plus the costs involved to run around a bit and get out of breath is a stretch for me," said one former participant on Reddit.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

I never took my eyes off the gate, hoping at any moment she’d come running through it, panicked and out of breath, her hair glistening with that coconut oil she loved.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson

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