breath

noun

Simple meaning

Air expelled from the lungs.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

brehth

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɹɛθ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

uncountable
The act or process of breathing.
The process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
“He took a deep breath and dived into the pool.”
countable
A single act of breathing in or out; a breathing of air.
uncountable
Air expelled from the lungs.
A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense.
countable
A rest or pause.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The act or process of breathing.

Used this way, breath is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use breath

“He took a deep breath and dived into the pool.”noun
“Not a breath of scandal ever touched her.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

deep breathlast breathlong breathfirst breath

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

breathingnounInflected form
The bodily process of inhalation and exhalation.
breathernounInflected form
A short respite.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

breathlessadjectiveDerived adjective
Not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

breathing apparatusnounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing devicenounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing machinenounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing outnounCompound term
The act of expelling air from the lungs.
breathing placenounCompound term
A short respite.
breathing roomnounCompound term
Sufficient room for easy breathing or movement.

Commonly Confused With

breatheBreath vs. BreatheKnow the difference

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What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Related Learning

Guides that use this word in context.

Word Differences
Breath vs. Breathe: What’s the Difference?
Breath is the noun (a deep breath); breathe is the verb (breathe deeply). Here’s how the spelling and sound tell them apart.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.