breathe
verb /briːð/
/briːð/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they breathe | /briːð/ /briːð/ |
| he / she / it breathes | /briːðz/ /briːðz/ |
| past simple breathed | /briːðd/ /briːðd/ |
| past participle breathed | /briːðd/ /briːðd/ |
| -ing form breathing | /ˈbriːðɪŋ/ /ˈbriːðɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to take air into your lungs and send it out again through your nose or mouth
- He breathed deeply before speaking again.
- The air was so cold we could hardly breathe.
- She was beginning to breathe more easily.
- He was breathing heavily after his exertions.
- breathe something Most people don't realize that they are breathing polluted air.
Extra Examples- Always breathe through your nose.
- He was breathing raggedly, mouth open.
- I can barely breathe here.
- I can't breathe properly—I'm gasping for air!
- They were both breathing hard from the steep climb.
- Try to breathe normally.
- He hardly dared breathe in case they heard him.
- The men breathe air that is filtered to remove any dust or gas.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- fast
- quickly
- rapidly
- …
- can
- can barely
- can hardly
- …
- through
- [transitive] breathe something (+ adv./prep.) to send air, smoke or a particular smell out of your mouth
- He came up close, breathing alcohol fumes all over me.
- (figurative) She rushed into my office breathing fire and threatening me with a lawyer.
- [transitive] breathe something | + speech (literary) to say something quietly
- ‘I'm over here,’ she breathed.
Extra Examples- He breathed the words against her ear.
- ‘Where are you?’ breathed a voice in the dark.
- I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
- You know I'd never breathe a word to anyone.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- huskily
- quietly
- softly
- …
- [intransitive] if you allow wine to breathe, you open the bottle and let air get in before you drink it
- [intransitive] if cloth, leather, skin, etc. can breathe, air can move around or through it
- Cotton clothing allows your skin to breathe.
- [transitive] breathe something (formal) to be full of a particular feeling or quality
- Her performance breathed wit and charm.
air/breath
say quietly
of wine
of cloth/skin
feeling/quality
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘exhale, steam’): from breath.
Idioms
breathe (easily/freely) again
- to feel calm again after something unpleasant or frightening has ended
- Once he was safely back in prison, she was able to breathe easily again.
breathe down somebody’s neck
- (informal) to watch closely what somebody is doing in a way that makes them feel anxious and/or annoyed
- I can’t get any work done with you breathing down my neck.
breathe/rest/sleep easy
- to relax and stop worrying
- You can rest easy—I'm not going to tell anyone.
- I can sleep easy knowing that she's safely home.
breathe your last
- (literary) to die
breathe (new) life into something
- to improve something by introducing new ideas and making people more interested in it
- The results of their research have breathed new life into the debate.
Extra Examples- He hopes the development will breathe new life into the community.
- They need some new, younger staff to breathe some life into the company.
live and breathe something
- to be very enthusiastic about something
- He just lives and breathes football.