BREATH

[noun] - the air that you take into and let out of your lungsAfter running I didn't have any breath left to shout for help. [U]Without pausing to draw breath (= breathe) she told me everything. [U]I had to stop running for a few minutes to catch my breath/get my breath back (= be able to breathe comfortably again). [U]I'd just been for a run and I was rather short of breath (= unable to breathe deeply). [U]He burst into the room, red-faced and out of breath (= unable to breathe comfortably because of tiredness or excitement). [U]How long can you hold your breath (= stop breathing) for? [U](figurative) The whole country held its breath (= waited anxiously) as it waited for news. [U]He was gasping for breath when they pulled him from the water. [U]The doctor told me to take a deep breath (= breathe in a lot of air). [C]There wasn't a breath of air (= the smallest amount of wind) in the desert.Shall we go out for a breath of (fresh) air (= go outside for a short time)?She's so cheerful and lively - it's like a breath of fresh air (= everything seems better) when she visits.The beauty of the Taj Mahal took my breath away (= was so surprising that I felt as if I could not breathe easily).He said he didn't love her any more but in the same/next breath (= the next moment) said how wonderful she was."Let's go," she muttered under her breath (= very quietly so that other people could not hear).She asked him with her last/dying breath (= just before she died) to look after her child.A breath freshener is something you eat to make your breath smell pleasant.People often suck a peppermint as a breath freshener.A breath test is a test in which the police ask a driver to blow into a breathalyser (= a bag-like device) to show whether they have drunk too much alcohol to be allowed to drive.