noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , deep , heavy , long , slow
▪ quick , shallow , sharp , short
▪ shaky , shuddering
▪ hot , warm
▪ bad (= bad-smelling)
▪
Smoking gives you bad ~.
VERB + BREATH
▪ draw , draw in , inhale , suck in , take
▪
He spoke solidly for twenty minutes, barely pausing to draw ~.
▪
Take a deep ~ and try to relax.
▪ exhale , let out , release
▪
He let out a long ~.
▪ feel
▪
She could feel his warm ~ against her cheek.
▪ hold
▪
How long can you hold your ~ for?
▪ get back ( BrE ), regain
▪
I needed a few minutes to get my ~ back after the run.
▪ catch
▪
She paused to catch her ~.
▪ gasp for
▪
He came up out of the water gasping for ~.
▪ pause for
▪
She poured out her story, hardly pausing for ~.
▪ save ( figurative )
▪
It's useless talking to him—you may as well save your ~.
▪ waste ( figurative )
▪
Don't waste your ~. He never listens to advice.
BREATH + VERB
▪ come in gasps, pants, puffs, etc.
▪
His ~ came in short gasps.
PREPOSITION
▪ on sb's ~
▪
I could smell gin on her ~.
▪ out of ~
▪
I'm a little out of ~ after my run.
▪ under your ~
▪
He was whispering rude remarks about her under his ~.
▪ ~ of
▪
It was a still day, without a ~ of wind.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of fresh air ( often figurative )
▪
I'm going outside for a ~ of fresh air.
▪
The new secretary is a ~ of fresh air.
▪ an intake of ~
▪
When the news was announced, there was a sharp intake of ~.
▪ in the same ~
▪
How can we trust a government that mentions community care and cutbacks in the same ~?
▪ short of ~
▪
I felt a little short of ~ and had to sit down.
▪ take sb's ~ away ( figurative )
▪
The sheer audacity of the man took my ~ away.
▪ with bated ~
▪
We waited for the decision with bated ~.