What does "breathe" mean?
To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
Breathe
/bɹiːð/ verb
verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
- Grammar: breathe is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: respire, rest, suspire, affect.
- Useful contrasts: suffocating, chokes, choking.
- Usage evidence: When you breathe out in cold weather, you can see your breath.
How to use "breathe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "breathe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "breathe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "breathe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "breathe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "breathe" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "respire" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "breathe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. intransitive
- 2 draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs wordnet
- 3 To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way. intransitive
"Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater."
- 4 expel (gases or odors) wordnet
- 5 To inhale (a gas) to sustain life. transitive
"While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane."
Show 21 more definitions
- 6 reach full flavor by absorbing air and being let to stand after having been uncorked wordnet
- 7 To live. figuratively, intransitive
"I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe."
- 8 take a short break from one's activities in order to relax wordnet
- 9 To draw something into the lungs. transitive
"Try not to breathe too much smoke."
- 10 manifest or evince wordnet
- 11 To expel air from the lungs, exhale. intransitive
"If you breathe on a mirror, it will fog up."
- 12 utter or tell wordnet
- 13 To exhale or expel (something) in the manner of breath. transitive
"The flowers breathed a heady perfume."
- 14 impart as if by breathing wordnet
- 15 To give an impression of, to exude. transitive
"The decor positively breathes classical elegance."
- 16 be alive wordnet
- 17 To whisper quietly. transitive
"He breathed the words into her ear, but she understood them all."
- 18 allow the passage of air through wordnet
- 19 To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to emanate; to blow gently.
"The wind breathes through the trees."
- 20 To inspire (scripture).
"The affirmation before us, then, will be, "All scripture is divinely breathed.""
- 21 To exchange gases with the environment. intransitive
"Uncork the wine and leave it on the table for a few minutes to allow it to breathe."
- 22 Of a material etc., to allow gases to pass through. intransitive
"Garments made of certain new materials breathe well and keep the skin relatively dry during exercise."
- 23 To rest; to stop and catch one's breath. archaic, intransitive
"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"
- 24 To stop, to give (a horse) an opportunity to catch its breath. transitive
"At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often."
- 25 To exercise; to tire by brisk exercise. transitive
- 26 To passionately devote much of one's life to (an activity, etc.). figuratively, transitive
"―Do you like hiking? ―Are you kidding? I breathe hiking."
Antonyms
Example
"When you breathe out in cold weather, you can see your breath."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "breathe"?
Common synonyms include: respire, rest, suspire, affect, air, alert.
How do you use "breathe" in a sentence?
When you breathe out in cold weather, you can see your breath.
How do you pronounce "breathe"?
Pronounced /bɹiːð/.
Etymology
From Middle English brethen (“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), derived from Middle English breth (“breath”). Eclipsed Middle English ethien and orðiæn, from Old English ēþian and orþian (“to breathe”); as well as Middle English anden, onden, from Old Norse anda (“to breathe”). More at breath.