Breathe Meaning
/bɹiːð/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
verbTo take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.
Sentence Examples
When you breathe out in cold weather, you can see your breath.
The concert hall was so jam-packed there wasn't room to breathe.
Sometimes machines can make an unconscious person breathe for years.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor told the patient to deeply ____ in through the nose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was so hot in the room that it was hard for me to ____ properly city.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English brethen (“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), derived from Middle English breth (“breath”). Eclipsed Middle English ethien and orðiæn, from Old English ēþian and orþian (“to breathe”); as well as Middle English anden, onden, from Old Norse anda (“to breathe”). More at breath.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I am in health, I breathe."
— 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
"Breathes there a man with soul so dead?"
— 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
"Mountain Drakes breathe fire, Ice Drakes breathe ice, Swamp Drakes breathe acid, and Forest Drakes breathe lightning."
— 2012, Timothy Groves, The Book Of Creatures, →ISBN, page 85:
"The air breathes upon us here most sweetly."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
"There breathes a living fragrance from the shore."
— 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “(please specify |canto=I to IV)”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor told the patient to deeply ____ in through the nose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was so hot in the room that it was hard for me to ____ properly city.