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breath

noun

  1. product of breathing
  2. inhale and exhale air
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /bɹɛθ/ / [bɹ̠ʷɛθ] / /bɹeθ/

adj

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).

  1. voiceless, surd; contrasting with voice (breath sounds, voice sounds)

noun

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).

  1. The act or process of breathing.

    I could hear the breath of the runner behind me.

    The child's breath came quickly and unevenly.

  2. A single act of breathing in or out; a breathing of air.

    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.

  3. Air expelled from the lungs.

    I could feel the runner's breath on my shoulder.

  4. A rest or pause.

    Let's stop for a breath when we get to the top of the hill.

  5. A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense.

    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.

  6. Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume.

    Autumn[…]Who wakenest with thy balmy breath

    the breath of flowers

  7. Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration.

    an after dinner's breath

verb

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).

  1. Misspelling of breathe.

    In the polar regions one finds dark cold waters with few places to breath.