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Webster 1913 Edition

Breathe

Breathe

(brēth)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Breathed
(brēthd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Breathing
.]
[From
Breath
.]
1.
To respire; to inhale and exhale air; hence;, to live.
“I am in health, I breathe.”
Shak.
2.
To take breath; to rest from action.
Well!
breathe
awhile, and then to it again!
Shakespeare
3.
To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to exhale; to emanate; to blow gently.
The air
breathes
upon us here most sweetly.
Shakespeare
There
breathes
a living fragrance from the shore.
Byron.

Breathe

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To inhale and exhale in the process of respiration; to respire.
To view the light of heaven, and
breathe
the vital air.
Dryden.
2.
To inject by breathing; to infuse; – with into.
Able to
breathe
life into a stone.
Shakespeare
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life.
Gen. ii. 7.
3.
To emit or utter by the breath; to utter softly; to whisper;
as, to
breathe
a vow
.
He softly
breathed
thy name.
Dryden.
Or let the church, our mother,
breathe
her curse,
A mother’s curse, on her revolting son.
Shakespeare
4.
To exhale; to emit, as breath;
as, the flowers
breathe
odors or perfumes
.
5.
To express; to manifest; to give forth.
Others articles
breathe
the same severe spirit.
Milner.
6.
To act upon by the breath; to cause to sound by breathing.
“They breathe the flute.”
Prior.
7.
To promote free respiration in; to exercise.
And every man should beat thee. I think thou wast created for men to
breathe
themselves upon thee.
Shakespeare
8.
To suffer to take breath, or recover the natural breathing; to rest;
as, to
breathe
a horse
.
A moment
breathed
his panting steed.
Sir W. Scott.
9.
To put out of breath; to exhaust.
Mr. Tulkinghorn arrives in his turret room, a little
breathed
by the journey up.
Dickens.
10.
(Phonetics)
To utter without vocality, as the nonvocal consonants.
The same sound may be pronounces either
breathed
, voiced, or whispered.
H. Sweet.
Breathed
elements, being already voiceless, remain unchanged
[in whispering]
.
H. Sweet.
To breathe again
,
to take breath; to feel a sense of relief, as from danger, responsibility, or press of business.
–
To breathe one's last
,
to die; to expire.
–
To breathe a vein
,
to open a vein; to let blood.
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition

Breathe

BREATHE

,
Verb.
I.
To respire; to inspire and expire air. Hence, to live.
1.
To take breath; to rest from action; as, let them have time to breathe.
2.
To pass as air.
To whose foul mouth no wholesome air breathes in.

BREATHE

,
Verb.
T.
To inhale as air into the lungs and expel it; as, to breathe vital air.
1.
To inject by breathing; to infuse; followed by into.
And the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Gen.2.
2.
To expire; to eject by breathing; followed by out; as, to breathe out threatening and slaughter.
3.
To exercise; to keep in breath.
The greyhounds are as swift as brethed stage.
4.
To inspire or blow into; to cause to sound by breathing; as, to breathe the flute.
5.
To exhale; to emit as breath; as, the flowers breathe odors or perfume.
6.
To utter softly or in private; as, to breathe a vow.
7.
To give air or vent to; to open; as, to breathe a vein.
8.
To express; to manifest.
Other articles breathe the same severe spirit.

Definition 2024

breathe

breathe

English

Verb

breathe ‎(third-person singular simple present breathes, present participle breathing, simple past and past participle breathed)

  1. (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 use (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) Figuratively, to live.
    I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      I am in health, I breathe.
    • (Can we date this quote?) 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. To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to emanate; to blow gently.
    The wind breathes through the trees.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Byron
      There breathes a living fragrance from the shore.
  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. (intransitive) To exchange gases with the environment.
    Garments made of certain new materials breathe well and keep the skin relatively dry during exercise.
  11. (intransitive, now rare) To rest; to stop and catch one's breath.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, 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
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      Well! breathe awhile, and then to it again!
  12. (transitive) To stop, to give (a horse) an opportunity to catch its breath.
    At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often.

Conjugation

Synonyms

  • (to draw air in and out): see Wikisaurus:breathe

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English brethen ‎(“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), from breth ‎(“breath”). More at breath.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: brēth, IPA(key): /bɹiːð/
  • Rhymes: -iːð

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