English
breathe
Pronunciation Verb

breathe (breathes, present participle breathing; past and past participle breathed)

  1. top en (intransitive) To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
  2. (intransitive) To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.
    Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.
  3. (transitive) To inhale (a gas) to sustain life.
    While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.
  4. (intransitive, figurative) To live.
    I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.
    • 1595 December 9 (first known performance)​​, William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene i]:
      I am in health, I breathe.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Breathes there a man with soul so dead?
  5. (transitive) To draw something into the lungs.
    Try not to breathe too much smoke.
  6. (intransitive) To expel air from the lungs, exhale.
    If you breathe on a mirror, it will fog up.
  7. (transitive) To exhale or expel (something) in the manner of breath.
    The flowers breathed a heady perfume.
    • 2012, Timothy Groves, The Book Of Creatures (ISBN 1105473058), page 85:
      Mountain Drakes breathe fire, Ice Drakes breathe ice, Swamp Drakes breathe acid, and Forest Drakes breathe lightning.
  8. (transitive) To give an impression of, to exude.
    The decor positively breathes classical elegance.
  9. (transitive) To whisper quietly.
    He breathed the words into her ear, but she understood them all.
  10. To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to emanate; to blow gently.
    The wind breathes through the trees.
    • 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act 2, scene 1]:
      The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
    • Byron
      There breathes a living fragrance from the shore.
  11. (intransitive) To exchange gases with the environment.
    Garments made of certain new materials breathe well and keep the skin relatively dry during exercise.
  12. (intransitive, now, rare) To rest; to stop and catch one's breath.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:12.64?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter lxiiij], in Le Morte Darthur, book X:
      Thenne they lasshed to gyder many sad strokes / & tracyd and trauercyd now bakward / now sydelyng hurtlyng to gyders lyke two bores / & that same tyme they felle both grouelyng to the erthe / Thus they fought styll withoute ony reposynge two houres and neuer brethed
    • Shakespeare
      Well! breathe awhile, and then to it again!
  13. (transitive) To stop, to give (a horse) an opportunity to catch its breath.
    At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often.
  14. (transitive) To exercise; to tire by brisk exercise.
  15. (transitive, figurative) To passionately devote much of one's life to (an activity, etc.).
    Do you like hiking?  Are you kidding? I breathe hiking.
Conjugation


conjugation of breathe

infinitive breathe
present participle breathing
past participle breathed
simple progressive perfect perfect progressive
present I breathe we breathe I am breathing we are breathing I have breathed we have breathed I have been breathing we have been breathing
you breathe you breathe you are breathing you are breathing you have breathed you have breathed you have been breathing you have been breathing
he breathes they breathe he is breathing they are breathing he has breathed they have breathed he has been breathing they have been breathing
past I breathed we breathed I was breathing we were breathing I had breathed we had breathed I had been breathing we had been breathing
you breathed you breathed you were breathing you were breathing you had breathed you had breathed you had been breathing you had been breathing
he breathed they breathed he was breathing they were breathing he had breathed they had breathed he had been breathing they had been breathing
future I will breathe we will breathe I will be breathing we will be breathing I will have breathed we will have breathed I will have been breathing we will have been breathing
you will breathe you will breathe you will be breathing you will be breathing you will have breathed you will have breathed you will have been breathing you will have been breathing
he will breathe they will breathe he will be breathing they will be breathing he will have breathed they will have breathed he will have been breathing they will have been breathing
conditional I would breathe we would breathe I would be breathing we would be breathing I would have breathed we would have breathed I would have been breathing we would have been breathing
you would breathe you would breathe you would be breathing you would be breathing you would have breathed you would have breathed you would have been breathing you would have been breathing
he would breathe they would breathe he would be breathing they would be breathing he would have breathed they would have breathed he would have been breathing they would have been breathing
imperative breathe

Synonyms
  • (to draw air in and out) see Thesaurus:breathe
  • (to be passionate about) live and breathe
Related terms Translations Translations Translations
  • Russian: дыша́ть
Translations Translations Translations
  • Russian: выдыха́ть
Translations
  • Russian: дыша́ть
Translations
  • Russian: дыша́ть
Translations Translations
  • Russian: ве́ять
Translations Translations
  • Russian: дать переды́шку


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