Adjacent Words

Breath definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BREATH, n. breth.
1. The air inhaled and expelled in the respiration of animals.
2. Life.
No man has more contempt than I of breath.
3. The state or power of breathing freely; opposed to a state of exhaustion from violent action; as, I am out of breath; I am scarce in breath.
4. Respite; pause; time to breathe; as,let me take breath; give me some breath.
5. Breeze; aid in gentle motion.
Calm and unruffled as a summer's sea,
When not a breath of wind flies o'er its surface.
6. A single respiration; as, he swears at every breath.
7. An instant; the time of a single respiration; a single act.
He smiles and he frowns in a breath.
8. A word.
A breath can make them, as a breath has made.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing; "he took a deep breath and dived into the pool"; "he was fighting to his last breath"
2: the air that is inhaled and exhaled in respiration; "his sour breath offended her"
3: a short respite [syn: breath, breather, breathing place, breathing space, breathing spell, breathing time]
4: an indirect suggestion; "not a breath of scandal ever touched her" [syn: hint, intimation, breath]
5: a slight movement of the air; "there wasn't a breath of air in the room"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English breth, from Old English br?th; akin to Old High German br?dam breath, and perhaps to Old English beorma yeast — more at barm Date: before 12th century 1. a. air filled with a fragrance or odor b. a slight indication ; suggestion <the faintest breath of scandal> 2. a. the faculty of breathing <recovering his breath after the race> b. an act of breathing <fought to the last breath> c. opportunity or time to breathe ; respite 3. a slight breeze 4. a. air inhaled and exhaled in breathing <bad breath> b. something (as moisture on a cold surface) produced by breath or breathing c. inhalation 5. a spoken sound ; utterance 6. spirit, animation

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the air taken into or expelled from the lungs. b one respiration of air. c an exhalation of air that can be seen, smelt, or heard (breath steamed in the cold air; bad breath). 2 a a slight movement of air; a breeze. b a whiff of perfume etc. 3 a whisper, a murmur (esp. of a scandalous nature). 4 the power of breathing; life (is there breath in him?). Phrases and idioms: below (or under) one's breath in a whisper. breath of fresh air 1 a small amount of or a brief time in the fresh air. 2 a refreshing change. breath of life a necessity. breath test Brit. a test of a person's alcohol consumption, using a breathalyser. catch one's breath 1 cease breathing momentarily in surprise, suspense, etc. 2 rest after exercise to restore normal breathing. draw breath breathe; live. hold one's breath cease breathing temporarily. in the same breath (esp. of saying two contradictory things) within a short time. out of breath gasping for air, esp. after exercise. take breath pause for rest. take one's breath away astound; surprise; awe; delight. waste one's breath talk or give advice without effect. Etymology: OE bræth f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Breath Breath (br[e^]th), n. [OE. breth, breeth, AS. br[=ae][eth] odor, scent, breath; cf. OHG. br[=a]dam steam, vapor, breath, G. brodem, and possibly E. Brawn, and Breed.] 1. The air inhaled and exhaled in respiration; air which, in the process of respiration, has parted with oxygen and has received carbonic acid, aqueous vapor, warmth, etc. Melted as breath into the wind. --Shak. 2. The act of breathing naturally or freely; the power or capacity to breathe freely; as, I am out of breath. 3. The power of respiration, and hence, life. --Hood. Thou takest away their breath, they die. --Ps. civ. 29. 4. Time to breathe; respite; pause. Give me some breath, some little pause. --Shak. 5. A single respiration, or the time of making it; a single act; an instant. He smiles and he frowns in a breath. --Dryden. 6. Fig.: That which gives or strengthens life. The earthquake voice of victory, To thee the breath of life. --Byron. 7. A single word; the slightest effort; a trifle. A breath can make them, as a breath has made. --Goldsmith. 8. A very slight breeze; air in gentle motion. Calm and unruffled as a summer's sea, when not a breath of wind flies o'er its surface. --Addison. 9. Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume. --Tennison. The breath of flowers. --Bacon. 10. Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration. An after dinner's breath. --Shak. Out of breath, breathless, exhausted; breathing with difficulty. Under one's breath, in low tones.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(breaths) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Your breath is the air that you let out through your mouth when you breathe. If someone has bad breath, their breath smells unpleasant. I could smell the whisky on his breath... Smoking causes bad breath. N-VAR: oft poss N 2. When you take a breath, you breathe in once. He took a deep breath, and began to climb the stairs... Gasping for breath, she leaned against the door... He spoke for one and a half hours and barely paused for breath. N-VAR 3. If you go outside for a breath of fresh air or for a breath of air, you go outside because it is unpleasantly warm indoors. PHRASE: breath inflects 4. If you describe something new or different as a breath of fresh air, you mean that it makes a situation or subject more interesting or exciting. Her brisk treatment of an almost taboo subject was a breath of fresh air. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR [approval] 5. When you get your breath back after doing something energetic, you start breathing normally again. (BRIT) I reached out a hand to steady myself against the house while I got my breath back. PHRASE: V inflects 6. When you catch your breath while you are doing something energetic, you stop for a short time so that you can start breathing normally again. He had stopped to catch his breath and make sure of his directions. PHRASE: V and N inflect 7. If something makes you catch your breath, it makes you take a short breath of air, usually because it shocks you. Kenny caught his breath as Nikko nearly dropped the bottle. = gasp PHRASE: V inflects 8. If you hold your breath, you make yourself stop breathing for a few moments, for example because you are under water. I held my breath and sank under the water. PHRASE: V and N inflect 9. If you say that someone is holding their breath, you mean that they are waiting anxiously or excitedly for something to happen. (WRITTEN) The whole world holds its breath for this speech. PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR for n 10. If you are out of breath, you are breathing very quickly and with difficulty because you have been doing something energetic. There she was, slightly out of breath from running. PHRASE: v-link PHR 11. You can use in the same breath or in the next breath to indicate that someone says two very different or contradictory things, especially when you are criticizing them. He hailed this week's arms agreement but in the same breath expressed suspicion about the motivations of the United States. PHRASE: PHR cl [disapproval] 12. If you are short of breath, you find it difficult to breathe properly, for example because you are ill. You can also say that someone suffers from shortness of breath. She felt short of breath and flushed... Any exercise that causes undue shortness of breath should be stopped. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 13. If you say that something takes your breath away, you are emphasizing that it is extremely beautiful or surprising. I heard this song on the radio and it just took my breath away. = astound PHRASE: V inflects [emphasis] 14. If you say something under your breath, you say it in a very quiet voice, often because you do not want other people to hear what you are saying. Walsh muttered something under his breath. PHRASE: PHR after v 15. with bated breath: see bated

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Respired air. 2. Breathing, respiration, power to breathe. 3. Exhalation, odor, perfume, aroma. 4. Life, existence, animation, breath of life, vital spark. 5. Respite, pause, rest. 6. Moment, instant, breathing-space. 7. Faint movement, slightest motion, faint breeze.

Moby Thesaurus

Aqua-Lung, a breath, afterdamp, amaze, anima, anima humana, animating force, aroma, artificial respiration, aspiration, asthmatic wheeze, astonish, astound, atman, ba, bated breath, bathmism, beating heart, biological clock, biorhythm, bit, blackdamp, blood, blow, break, breath of air, breath of life, breather, breathing, breathing place, breathing space, breathing spell, breathing time, breathy voice, breeze, broken wind, brush, buddhi, capful of wind, caress, chokedamp, cigarette break, cloud, cocktail hour, coffee break, contact, cough, coup, crack, cutaneous sense, damp, dash, dazzle, definite odor, detectable odor, divine breath, divine spark, downtime, effluvium, ego, elan vital, emanation, enforced respite, essence, essence of life, exhalation, expiration, exsufflation, feel, feeling, fetid air, fingertip caress, firedamp, flash, flatus, flavor, flick, fluid, force of life, fragrance, fume, gasp, glance, graze, growth force, gulp, gust, hack, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, halt, hand-mindedness, happy hour, heart, heartbeat, heartblood, hiccup, hint, impulse of life, indication, inhalation, inhalator, inner man, inspiration, inspiriting force, instant, insufflation, interlude, intermission, iron lung, jiff, jiffy, jiva, jivatma, khu, kiss, lambency, lap, letup, lick, life breath, life cycle, life essence, life force, life principle, life process, lifeblood, light touch, little, little bit, little voice, little while, living force, low voice, lull, malaria, manes, mephitis, miasma, microsecond, millisecond, mind, minute, moment, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, mumble, mumbling, murmur, murmuration, murmuring, mutter, muttering, nephesh, no time, odor, oxygen mask, oxygen tent, pair of winks, pant, pause, pneuma, prana, psyche, puff, puff of air, puff of smoke, puff of wind, purusha, recess, redolence, reek, respiration, respite, rest, ruach, rub, savor, scent, scuba, seat of life, sec, second, sense of touch, shade, shadow, shake, shock, short spell, short time, sigh, small space, smell, smoke, smudge, sneeze, sniff, sniffle, snore, snoring, snuff, snuffle, soft voice, soul, soupcon, span, spark of life, spell, spirit, spiritual being, spiritus, split second, spoor, spurt, stage whisper, stagger, startle, stay, steam, stench, sternutation, stertor, still small voice, stir, stir of air, stirring, streak, stroke, subtle odor, suggestion, surcease, surprise, suspension, suspicion, suspiration, susurration, susurrus, tactile sense, taction, tap, tea break, ten, tentative poke, the self, tick, time out, touch, trace, trail, trice, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, underbreath, undertone, vapor, vis vitae, vis vitalis, vital energy, vital flame, vital fluid, vital force, vital principle, vital spark, vital spirit, volatile, waft, water vapor, wheeze, whiff, whiffet, whisper, whispering, wind, wink, zephyr