breathe

breathe

W3S3 [bri:ð] v

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(air)¦

2¦(blow)¦

3 somebody can breathe easy/easily

4 breathe a sigh of relief

5 be breathing down somebody's neck

6 not breathe a word

7 breathe life into something

8¦(skin)¦

9¦(clothes/fabric)¦

10¦(wine)¦

11¦(say something quietly)¦

12 breathe your last (breath)

13 breathe fire

Phrasal verbs

　breathe in

　breathe out

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: breath]

1.) ¦(AIR)¦ [I and T]

to take air into your lungs and send it out again

▪ The room filled with smoke, and it was becoming difficult to breathe.

▪ People are concerned about the quality of the air they breathe.

▪ Relax and breathe deeply (=take in a lot of air) .

2.) ¦(BLOW)¦ [I and T]

to blow air or smoke out of your mouth

breathe on

▪ Roy breathed on his hands and rubbed them together vigorously.

breathe sth over sb

▪ The fat man opposite was breathing garlic all over me.

3.) sb can breathe easy/easily

used when saying that someone can relax because a worrying or dangerous situation has ended

▪ With stocks going up, investors can breathe easily.

4.) breathe a sigh of relief

to stop being worried or frightened about something

▪ Once the deadline passed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

5.) be breathing down sb's neck informal

to pay very close attention to what someone is doing in a way that makes them feel nervous or annoyed

▪ How can I concentrate with you breathing down my neck all the time?

6.) not breathe a word

to not tell anyone anything at all about something, because it is a secret

▪ Don't breathe a word; it's supposed to be a surprise.

7.) breathe life into sth

to change a situation so that people feel more excited or interested

▪ Critics are hoping the young director can breathe new life into the French film industry.

8.) ¦(SKIN)¦

if your skin can breathe, air can reach it

9.) ¦(CLOTHES/FABRIC)¦ [I]

if cloth or clothing breathes, air can pass through it so that your body feels pleasantly cool and dry

10.) ¦(WINE)¦ [I]

if you let wine breathe, you open the bottle to let the air get to it before you drink it

11.) ¦(SAY SOMETHING QUIETLY)¦ [T]

[i]written to say something very quietly, almost in a whisper

▪ 'Wait,' he breathed.

12.) breathe your last (breath)

literary to die

13.) breathe fire

to talk and behave in a very angry way

→live and breathe sth at ↑live¹ (19)

breathe in phr v

to take air into your lungs

▪ The doctor made me breathe in while he listened to my chest.

breathe sth<=>in

▪ Wyatt breathed in the cool ocean air.

breathe out phr v

to send air out from your lungs

▪ Jim breathed out deeply.

breathe sth<=>out

▪ Lauren lit up a cigarette, then breathed out a puff of smoke.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

WORD FOCUS: breathe

to breathe in: inhale (formal)

to breathe out: exhale (formal)

to breathe noisily: sniff, snore (=when sleeping)

snort, sigh

to breathe with difficulty: gasp, pant, wheeze, be short of breath, be out of breath

to be unable to breathe: choke, suffocate

See also: respiration, lung

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬