breathe
verb
\ ˈbrēt͟h
\
\
breathed;
breathing
Definition of breathe
b
: to inhale and exhale freely
2
: to blow softly
3
: live
4
: to pause and rest before continuing
5
: to feel free of restraint
needs room to breathe
6a
: to permit passage of air or vapor
a fabric that breathes
b
of an internal combustion engine
: to use air to support combustion
c
: to be cooled or dried by air that passes by or through
clothing that allows your skin to breathe
8a
: to become perceptible : be expressed
a personality that breathes and that distinguishes his work— Bennett Schiff
1
: to inhale and exhale
breathe air
2a
: to send out by exhaling
b
: to instill by or as if by breathing
breathe new life into the movement
3
: to take in in breathing
breathe the scent of pines
5
: to give rest from exertion to
6
: to spend a great deal of time, thought, or effort on (something) : to be wholly devoted to (some interest or activity)
The Virginia native may not breathe basketball 24-7 … but during games and practice, his focus is second to none.— Robbi Pickeral As with visiting companies, one of the key reasons for going to conferences is to avoid the tunnel vision that can overcome managers who live and breathe their business.— Leslie Brokaw
breathe down one's neck
breathe easy
or breathe easier
or breathe easily
or breathe freely
1
: to threaten especially in attack or pursuit
2
: to keep one under close or constant surveillance
parents always breathing down his neck
: to enjoy relief (as from pressure or danger)
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Examples of breathe in a Sentence
No one was more grief-stricken by Lincoln's assassination than Stanton, who spoke the imperishable words as the president breathed his last: "Now he belongs to the ages."
— James M. McPherson, New York Times Book Review, 6 Nov. 2005
… The tinder burned all right, but that was as far as I got. I blew on it, I breathed on it, I cupped it in my hands, but no sooner did I add twigs than the whole thing went black.
— Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain, (1959) 2001
However, liquid nitrogen is not used for higher levels of fog because breathing this substance is unsafe. Dry ice is a safer material, and can be used either at ground level or higher.
— Patricia D. Netzley, Encylopedia Of Movie Special Effects, 2000
Earth is surrounded by a life-giving gaseous envelope called the atmosphere. This thin blanket of air is an integral part of the planet. It not only provides the air that we breathe but also acts to protect us from the dangerous radiation emitted by the Sun.
— Frederick K. Lutgens et al., The Atmosphere, 1979/2001
He was breathing hard from running.
The patient suddenly stopped breathing.
I can hardly breathe with all this smoke.
He wants to live where he can breathe clean air.
a dragon that breathes fire
People usually contract the virus by breathing contaminated air.
Breathe deeply and then exhale.
I'll never give up as long as I'm still breathing.
a living, breathing human being
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Recent Examples on the Web
That’s the battle of kicking.’’ On one of the last days of camp, his former Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield breathed down Seibert’s neck to put pressure on him during a kick. — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, "Austin Seibert pulls out of a tailspin to likely kick Greg Joseph off the Browns’ roster," 30 Aug. 2019 Brandon Lee can now breathe on his own and is able to understand conversations and communicate by mouthing words, Haney said. — Michael Cabanatuan, SFChronicle.com, "SF supervisor visits activist nearly shot to death in Philippines," 30 Aug. 2019 One 2-year-old, her face covered in tape to keep a nasal feeding tube in place, breathed with discomfort, a Barbie-like doll next to her on her pillow. — Washington Post, "As troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, will aid follow?," 28 Aug. 2019 Police in the southern Kentucky town were called to a home around 5 a.m. last Wednesday on a report of a child who was not breathing. — Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, "Watch: CPR training pays off for Kentucky police during crisis situation," 28 Aug. 2019 The morning after an explosion rocked a Columbia office complex and shopping center, authorities shared more details about the blast and breathed a collective sigh of relief that no one was injured. — Lillian Reed, baltimoresun.com, "Columbia explosion aftermath: Destruction of some businesses leaves owners devastated," 26 Aug. 2019 Michalek and his team are developing technologies that help astronauts do something people don’t often think about on Earth — breathe. — The News-review, oregonlive.com, "Southern Oregon technology may help astronauts breathe easier," 24 Aug. 2019 Aliume can also feel the copycats breathing down his neck. — Duff Mcdonald, WIRED, "The Cosmic, Psychedelic, Glow-in-the-Dark Art of Alex Aliume," 20 Aug. 2019 Responding officers found a man slumped over in the driver's seat and not breathing. — Amy Huschka, Detroit Free Press, "MSP: 4 doses of Narcan save wrong-way driver in Taylor," 18 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'breathe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for breathe
breathe
verb
English Language Learners Definition of breathe
: to move air into and out of your lungs : to inhale and exhale
: to send (something) out from your lungs through your mouth or nose
: to take (something) into your lungs through your mouth or nose
See the full definition for breathe in the English Language Learners Dictionary
breathe
verb
\ ˈbrēt͟h
\
\