with bated breath
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwith bated breathwith bated breathWORRIEDfeeling very anxious or excited He waited for a reply to his offer with bated breath. → batedExamples from the Corpuswith bated breath• From July onwards the town of Whaddon had waited with bated breath.• So now I wait with bated breath.• I was waiting with bated breath for him to say something, anything, that wasn't a cliche.• The soldiers' families waited with bated breath for news.• Neither Bradford nor Birmingham regrets entering the tourist trade - the industry waits with bated breath to see how Swindon fares.