breathe

verb

SayBREETH/bɹið/UK/bɹiːð/

Often confused with breath

16 meanings of breathe

1
verbintransitive
To take air into your lungs and let it out again to get oxygen.
Like a balloon filling up with air and then letting it out.
Remember to breathe slowly when you feel nervous.
She was breathing hard after climbing the stairs.
Similarrespire
Note
2
verbintransitive
To push air out of your lungs, the opposite of breathing in.
Like blowing air out to cool down hot soup.
Breathe out as you push the weight upward.
She breathed slowly onto the cold window, fogging the glass.
Similarexhale, blow, puff
Oppositeinhale
3
verbtransitive
To pull something, like air or smoke, into your lungs.
Like a vacuum cleaner pulling air inside.
Don't breathe the smoke from the fire.
She breathed the cool air and felt better.
Similarinhale
Oppositeexhale
4
verbtransitive
To take in a gas, like oxygen, that your body needs to stay alive.
Like a fire needing air to keep burning.
Astronauts breathe oxygen carried in their tanks.
Fish cannot breathe the air that we do.
Similarinhale
Oppositeexhale
Note
5
verbintransitive
To take in the gases an animal or plant needs and let out the waste gases.
Like lungs, but using a different part of the body.
Insects breathe through tiny holes along their bodies.
Frogs can breathe through their skin.
Similarrespire
6
verbintransitive
To swap gases with the air or water around you.
Like trading one thing for another with the air around you.
Plants breathe through small openings on their leaves.
Even tiny pond creatures must breathe.
Similarrespire
Note
7
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To go on living and be alive.
As long as I breathe, I will protect this family.
She vowed to fight for justice as long as she breathed.
Similarlive, exist, survive
Oppositedie
Note
8
verbtransitive
To say something very softly, almost in a whisper.
Like saying something so quietly it sounds like just air.
She breathed his name so softly he barely heard it.
Don't breathe a word of this to anyone.
Similarwhisper, murmur, mutter
Oppositeshout, yell
9
verbtransitive
To seem to send out a feeling or quality very strongly.
Like how a warm room can make you feel cozy the moment you walk in.
The old house breathes warmth and comfort.
Her paintings breathe a quiet sadness.
Similarexude, radiate, evoke, suggest
10
verbfigurativelytransitive
To care about an activity so much that it fills your whole life.
Like loving a hobby so much you think about it all day long.
She breathes basketball, practicing every single day.
Those kids eat, sleep, and breathe music.
Similarlive

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of breathe apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English brethen, from breth, meaning "breath."