Link Centre Dictionary

breathe

UK/bɹiːð/ US/bɹið/ common

verb

1.

draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs

  • “I can breathe better when the air is clean”
  • “The patient is respiring”
Synonyms
2.

be alive

  • “Every creature that breathes”
3.

impart as if by breathing

  • “He breathed new life into the old house”
4.

allow the passage of air through

  • “Our new synthetic fabric breathes and is perfect for summer wear”
5.

utter or tell

  • “not breathe a word”
6.

manifest or evince

  • “She breathes the Christian spirit”
7.

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

Synonyms
8.

reach full flavor by absorbing air and being let to stand after having been uncorked

  • “This rare Bordeaux must be allowed to breathe for at least 2 hours”
9.

expel (gases or odors)

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English brethen (“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), derived from Middle English breth (“breath”). Eclipsed Middle English ethien and orðiæn, from Old English ēþian and orþian (“to breathe”); as well as Middle English anden, onden, from Old Norse anda (“to breathe”). More at breath.

Phrases

  • as I live and breathe
  • breathe a sigh of relief
  • breathe a word
  • breathe again
  • breathe back to life
  • breathe down someone's neck
  • breathe easy
  • breathe freely

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.