INDEX:
1. to take air into your lungs and send it out again
2. to take air, smoke etc into your lungs
3. to send air, smoke etc out of your lungs
4. the action of breathing
5. to breathe noisily
6. to breathe with difficulty
7. to breathe normally again after running, playing sport etc
8. to be unable to breathe
9. to make it impossible for someone to breathe
RELATED WORDS
to kill someone by preventing them from breathing : ↑ KILL
see also
↑ AIR
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1. to take air into your lungs and send it out again
▷ breathe /briːð/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to take air into your lungs and send it out again through your nose or mouth :
▪ The air was so smoky it was difficult to breathe.
▪ The boy was unconscious, but he was still breathing.
breathe air/fumes
▪ People nowadays are becoming more and more concerned about the quality of the air they breathe.
breathe deeply
take a lot of air into your lungs as you breathe
▪ I want you to breathe deeply and relax.
2. to take air, smoke etc into your lungs
▷ breathe in /ˌbriːð ˈɪn/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to take air, smoke etc into your lungs, through your nose or mouth :
▪ Every time I breathe in I get a pain in the left side of my chest.
breathe in something
▪ I put my handkerchief over my nose to avoid breathing in the smoke.
▪ They stood on the cliff breathing in the fresh sea air.
▷ take a breath /ˌteɪk ə ˈbreθ/ [verb phrase]
to breathe in once :
▪ Sherman stopped, took a breath, and opened the door.
▪ It was so quiet that I was afraid to take a breath.
take a breath of
▪ Every time you took a breath of that foul air you could feel it burning your lungs.
take a deep breath
take a lot of air into your lungs
▪ Taking a deep breath she dived into the cool water.
▷ inhale /ɪnˈheɪl/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to take air, smoke, or gas into your lungs, through your nose or mouth - used especially in technical and medical contexts :
▪ It is dangerous to inhale the fumes produced by these chemicals.
▪ Every time he inhaled, his lungs made an awful wheezing sound.
inhale deeply
inhale a lot of air or smoke
▪ Stella lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply.
3. to send air, smoke etc out of your lungs
▷ breathe out /ˌbriːð ˈaʊt/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to send air out of your lungs, through your nose or mouth :
▪ The doctor told her to breathe out slowly.
▪ Ballet dancers are taught to breathe in before they leap, and to breathe out after they land.
▷ exhale /eksˈheɪl/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to send air or smoke out of your lungs through your nose or mouth - used especially in medical or technical contexts :
▪ Hold your breath for 5 seconds, then exhale slowly.
▪ She took a long pull on her cigarette, exhaled and coughed loudly.
▷ blow /bləʊ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to breathe out strongly, especially while making a circle with your lips :
▪ I put the balloon to my lips and blew as hard as I could.
▪ He blew smoke rings across the table.
blow on/into etc
▪ ‘This coffee’s too hot to drink.’ ‘Blow on it -- that’ll cool it down.’
4. the action of breathing
▷ breathing /ˈbriːðɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
the process of breathing air in and out :
▪ The disease in his lungs made breathing very painful.
▪ Breathing became more difficult as we got higher up the mountain.
deep breathing
breathing a lot of air into your lungs
▪ Deep breathing is good for relaxing your mind and your body.
heavy breathing
loud breathing
▪ When I picked up the phone all I heard was heavy breathing.
▷ breath /breθ/ [uncountable noun]
the air that you breathe in or out :
▪ It was so cold they could see their breath.
▪ I could feel the horse’s breath on the back of my neck.
hold your breath
stop yourself from breathing for a short time
▪ How long can you hold your breath underwater?
bad breath
breath that smells unpleasant
▪ His teeth were rotten and he had bad breath.
5. to breathe noisily
▷ sniff /snɪf/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe in noisily through your nose, for example because you have a cold or because you are crying :
▪ Stop sniffing! Use your handkerchief.
▪ ‘I’m sorry I got so upset,’ she sniffed.
▪ The dog raised its nose in the air, sniffed, and then started to follow the scent.
sniff [countable noun]
▪ His mother gave a sniff and asked if he had been smoking in his bedroom.
▷ sigh /saɪ/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe in and out noisily, because you are disappointed, tired, or sad, or because you can begin to relax after worrying about something :
▪ Frank sighed deeply and stared out of the window.
▪ ‘That’s life, I suppose,’ she sighed.
▪ Sighing wearily, she began her routine of getting ready for bed.
sigh [countable noun]
with a sigh
▪ ‘Oh no!’ he said with a sigh, ‘Not again!’
breathe/give a sigh of relief
because you are no longer worried about something
▪ Irene closed the door behind her and breathed a big sigh of relief.
▷ gasp /gɑːspǁgæsp/ [intransitive verb]
to suddenly breathe in noisily, because you are surprised, shocked, or in pain :
▪ I gasped when I heard how much the ring had cost.
▪ The crowd gasped as the plane burst into flames.
gasp with amazement/shock/pain etc
▪ One of the boys hit him in the face, and he gasped with pain.
gasp [countable noun]
the sound you make when you gasp :
gasp of astonishment/pain/disbelief etc
▪ There were gasps of astonishment from the audience.
▷ snore /snɔːʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe noisily while you are asleep :
▪ My husband snores so loudly that I find it difficult to get to sleep.
▪ If you snore, it’s better not to sleep on your back.
snoring [uncountable noun]
▪ Isn’t there something you can do about your snoring?
▷ snort /snɔːʳt/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe out very noisily through your nose, especially to show that you are amused or annoyed :
▪ My sister snorts when she laughs.
▪ The horse lowered its head, and snorted at them.
snort [countable noun]
▪ From the other side of the library came a loud unmistakable snort -- it was the professor.
6. to breathe with difficulty
▷ short of breath /ˌʃɔːʳt əv ˈbreθ/ [adjective phrase]
unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy :
▪ When I wake up in the morning I’m often very short of breath.
▪ She got short of breath very easily because she was so overweight.
▪ The fog irritated his lungs and made him short of breath.
▷ breathless/out of breath /ˈbreθləs, aʊt əv ˈbreθ/ [adjective]
having difficulty breathing, especially because you have just been running, climbing stairs etc :
▪ She sounded a little breathless, as if she had been running.
▪ We were all a little out of breath when we got on the train.
▪ Can we have a rest? -- I’m a bit out of breath.
breathlessness [uncountable noun]
▪ The poor lady, judging by her breathlessness and flushed cheeks, was exhausted.
▷ gasp /gɑːspǁgæsp/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe very quickly and deeply because you are having difficulty breathing normally, for example after running fast or because you have been injured :
▪ The hill was very steep and they were all gasping by the time they got to the top.
▪ ‘Do you think you can walk?’ I asked. ‘I’ll try,’ he gasped.
gasp for breath
because you can hardly breathe
▪ His mother was coughing and gasping for breath.
▷ puff /pʌf/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe loudly and with difficulty, because you are doing something which needs a lot of physical effort :
▪ You could see her puffing as she carried the heavy washing basket.
▪ ‘Sorry I’m so late Maxie,’ he said, puffing breathlessly.
▷ pant /pænt/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe quickly and noisily with your mouth open, for example, because you have just been running :
▪ Matt was still panting after his run.
▪ When I reached the top of the stairs I was puffing and panting like an old steam engine.
▪ A strange brown dog suddenly jumped all over him, panting, its tongue out.
▷ be stuffed up also be bunged up British /biː ˌstʌft ˈʌp, biː ˌbʌŋd ˈʌp/ [verb phrase] spoken
to have difficulty breathing through your nose because you have a cold :
▪ She doesn’t want to go to school. She says her throat is sore and she’s stuffed up.
be all bunged up
▪ I couldn’t sleep last night because I was all bunged up.
▷ wheeze /wiːz/ [intransitive verb]
to breathe with a whistling noise in your throat and chest because you are ill or unhealthy :
▪ When she coughed she made a terrible wheezing sound.
▪ His asthma was acting up and he wheezed throughout the show.
7. to breathe normally again after running, playing sport etc
▷ get your breath back/catch your breath /ˌget jɔːʳ ˈbreθ bæk, ˌkætʃ jɔːʳ ˈbreθ/ [verb phrase]
▪ It took me a few minutes to get my breath back after climbing the stairs.
▪ Once you’ve got your breath back we can do a few more lengths of the pool.
8. to be unable to breathe
▷ can’t breathe /ˌkɑːnt ˈbriːðǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
▪ It’s so hot in here! I can’t breathe!
▪ The worst thing about asthma is feeling that you can’t breathe.
▷ choke /tʃəʊk/ [intransitive verb]
to be unable to breathe because your throat is blocked or because there is not enough air :
▪ Do something -- he’s choking!
▪ At last I reached the shore and fell onto the sand, choking and spluttering.
choke on
▪ The old king died after choking on a chicken bone.
▷ suffocate /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to die because you are unable to breathe because you cannot get any air :
▪ Many of the birds had suffocated in their boxes.
▪ It was very hot inside the car, and I felt as though I was suffocating.
suffocation /ˌsʌfəˈkeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
when someone dies by suffocating :
▪ Glue-sniffing carries the risk of suffocation.
9. to make it impossible for someone to breathe
▷ choke /tʃəʊk/ [transitive verb]
if a person or smoke, gas etc chokes someone, they make it very difficult or impossible for them to breathe :
▪ Don’t hold so tight, you’re choking me.
▪ I felt myself being choked by thick, yellow fumes.
choke somebody to death
▪ He grabbed her around the neck and choked her to death.
▷ suffocate /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ [transitive verb]
to kill someone by preventing them from getting any air :
▪ They pushed a plastic bag over his head and almost suffocated him.
▪ They found her half-suffocated from the poisonous gases given off by the burning furniture.