catch one's breath
verb
Simple meaning
To take a break, or rest while doing a strenuous activity, so that one's breathing becomes easier.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kachwuhnzbrehthSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkætʃˈwʌnzbˈɹɛθ
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To take a break, or rest while doing a strenuous activity, so that one's breathing becomes easier
To take in a breath sharply and hold it, usually in reaction to a sudden shock, or surprise
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: To take a break, or rest while doing a strenuous activity, so that one's breathing becomes easier
Used this way, catch one's breath is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Determined and hard-working
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.