breathe

Study(27)

UK /bɹiːð/ US /bɹið/

verb 5

Collocations

(verb.) air/breath

ADV

fast, quickly, rapidly | slowly | deeply | shallowly

hard, heavily

After running up the stairs, she was breathing heavily as she reached the top floor.

gently

easily, steadily

After the doctor gave him medicine, he could breathe steadily again.

normally, properly

After running up the stairs, he breathed normally again once he sat down to rest.

raggedly

After running up the stairs, she breathed raggedly while trying to catch her breath.

in, out

After the race, Tom sat down and breathed in deeply to calm himself.

VERB + BREATHE

can/can't, could/couldn't, could barely/hardly/scarcely

not dare

She didn't dare breathe as the spider crawled across her arm.

PREP

through

When you swim underwater, you must breathe through a special tube called a snorkel.

(verb.) say quietly

ADV

huskily, softly

He breathed huskily as he climbed the steep mountain path in the heat.

Definitions

verb

To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.

To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.

Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.

To inhale (a gas) to sustain life.

While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.

To live.

I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.

I am in health, I breathe.

To draw something into the lungs.

Try not to breathe too much smoke.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs

verb — expel (gases or odors)

emit

verb — take a short break from one's activities in order to relax

rest

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

breathe easy

To relax or feel secure about something.

You can breathe easy knowing that your savings account is insured against loss.

breathe down someone's neck

To follow or supervise someone too closely, causing discomfort for that person.

My boss never lets me get on with my work. He's always breathing down my neck and checking up on me.

eat, breathe, and sleep

To devote one's time obsessively to.

It is so easy to begin to eat, breathe, and sleep autism, but it will do no good — not for you, not for your spouse, and not even for your child.

breathe a sigh of relief

to be relieved; to feel relief.

And the home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief barely two minutes later when Andros Townsend's cross was finished by Defoe.

breathe a word

To divulge even part of a secret (usually used with a negative).

I warn you not to breathe a word of this to anyone, or else!

Example Bank

Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.

Wiktionary

While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.

Wiktionary

I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.

Wiktionary

When you breathe out in cold weather, you can see your breath.

Tatoeba · #21164

The concert hall was so jam-packed there wasn't room to breathe.

Tatoeba · #22352

The very air we breathe is polluted with smog from the factory chimneys.

Tatoeba · #23434

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, breathe is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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