Breath vs breathe
Breath is a noun that means the air you take in or push out. Breathe is a verb that means to take air in and let it out.
Breathe ends in an extra e and has a long ee sound. Breath is shorter, with a short e sound.
breath noun
The air you take into your body or push back out, or one single time you do this.
- Take a long breath and hold it for five seconds.
- The cold turned everyone's breath into little clouds.
breathe verb
To take air into your lungs and let it out again.
- Doctors told him to breathe deeply during the examination.
- She was breathing hard after running up the stairs.
Watch out
- After a, the or a word like his, it is always the noun breath, even if in or out comes next: take a deep breath in. Without such a word, in or out after it usually means the verb breathe.Breathe out fully before taking your next deep breath.
- Breathe can also mean to say something very softly, almost in a whisper.He breathed a quiet prayer before stepping onto the stage.
Test yourself
Remember to blank slowly when you feel nervous.
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breathe. After remember to you need the base form of a verb, so it is breathe.
I could smell coffee on his blank.
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breath. This is the air coming out of him, a thing, so it is the noun.
He held his blank under the water.
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breath. After his you need a noun, the air he took in.
Most people blank through their nose when they sleep.
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breathe. This is the action of taking in air, so it is the verb.