breath
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: human-sciences
linguistics
phonetics
phonology
sciences
Etymology: From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).
Inflected forms:
form: breaths
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: breth
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: breth
pos: adj
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: The act or process of breathing.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: I could hear the breath of the runner behind me.
The child's breath came quickly and unevenly.
Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
gloss: A single act of breathing in or out; a breathing of air.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: I took a deep breath and started the test.
Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
She knew from avalanche safety courses that outstretched hands might puncture the ice surface and alert rescuers. She knew that if victims ended up buried under the snow, cupped hands in front of the face could provide a small pocket of air for the mouth and nose. Without it, the first breaths could create a suffocating ice mask.
gloss: Air expelled from the lungs.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: I could feel the runner's breath on my shoulder.
gloss: A rest or pause.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: Let's stop for a breath when we get to the top of the hill.
gloss: A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Even with all the windows open, there is hardly a breath of air in here.
If she had a breath of common sense, she would never have spoken to the man in the first place.
gloss: Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: Autumn[…]Who wakenest with thy balmy breath
the breath of flowers
gloss: Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: an after dinner's breath
gloss: voiceless, surd; contrasting with voice (breath sounds, voice sounds)
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
Related words: breathe
breather
Derived words: arse breath
arsebreath
ass-breath
assbreath
ass breath
baby's breath
bad breath
beanbreath
breathalyzer
breath and britches
breatharian
breath-catching
breath-catchingly
breath check
breath control
breathe one's last breath
breather
breathful
breath guard
breathhold
breath-holding
breathless
breathlike
breathly
breath mint
breath of fresh air
breath of heaven
breath of life
breathplay
breath play
breathsome
breath spray
breath strip
breathtaker
breathtaking
breath test
breathwork
breathy
butt-breath
butt breath
buttbreath
catch-breath
catch breath
catch one's breath
cockbreath
commission breath
cuntbreath
devil's breath
dickbreath
dogbreath
don't hold your breath
dragonbreath
dragonsbreath
draw a sober breath
draw breath
draw one's last breath
fart-breath
fresh breath
get one's breath back
good breath
hold one's breath
inbreath
interbreath
in the same breath
keep one's breath to cool one's porridge
Kegsbreath
Lizardbreath
midbreath
minibreath
morning breath
outbreath
out of breath
pissbreath
pussybreath
save one's breath
save one's breath to cool one's porridge
scumbreath
one's breath
shitbreath
shortness of breath
short of breath
superbreath
take a breath
take a deep breath
take breath
take one's breath away
take someone's breath away
the breath of life
underbreath
underneath one's breath
under one's breath
under the breath
vase breath
waste breath
waste of breath
wiener breath
with bated breath
with 'bated breath
with every breath
with one's dying breath
with one's last breath
Translations: