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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

breath.

The act or process of breathing.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/bɹɛθ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[bɹ̠ʷɛθ]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɹeθ/Australia, New-Zealand/bɾɛθ/Scotland, Wales

  1. The act or process of breathing.

    uncountable
    I could hear the breath of the runner behind me.
    The child's breath came quickly and unevenly.

  2. A single act of breathing in or out; a breathing of air.

    countable
    I took a deep breath and started the test.

  3. Air expelled from the lungs.

    uncountable
    I could feel the runner's breath on my shoulder.

  4. A rest or pause.

    countable
    Let's stop for a breath when we get to the top of the hill.

  5. A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense.

    countable · uncountable
    Even with all the windows open, there is hardly a breath of air in here.
    If she had a breath of common sense, she would never have spoken to the man in the first place.

  6. Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable

  7. Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

adj/bɹɛθ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[bɹ̠ʷɛθ]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɹeθ/Australia, New-Zealand/bɾɛθ/Scotland, Wales

  1. voiceless, surd; contrasting with voice (breath sounds, voice sounds)

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

verb/bɹɛθ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[bɹ̠ʷɛθ]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɹeθ/Australia, New-Zealand/bɾɛθ/Scotland, Wales

  1. Misspelling of breathe.

    alt-of · misspelling
    In the polar regions one finds dark cold waters with few places to breath.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.