breath */*/*/

UK [breθ] / US noun [countable/uncountable]
Word forms "breath":
singular breath plural breaths

Get it right: breath:

Don't confuse breath (a noun) and breathe (a verb).
Breath is pronounced /breθ/ and means "the air that goes in and out of your body through your nose or mouth": I could smell whisky on his breath.
Breathe is pronounced /briːð/ and means "to take air into your lungs through your nose or mouth and let it out again":
Wrong: Without plants, we could scarcely breath.
Right: Without plants, we could scarcely breathe.
Wrong: These children have to breath contaminated air.
Right: These children have to breathe contaminated air.

a) the air that goes in and out of your body through your nose or mouth

He could feel her cool breath on his face.

His breath smelt strongly of alcohol.

b) the act of getting air into your lungs by breathing

take a breath:

She took a long slow breath to calm down.

a deep breath (= a breath that fills your lungs):

Take a deep breath and dive into the water.

a shallow breath (= a breath in which you breathe only a small amount of air):

quick shallow breaths

•

a breath of air/wind — mainly literary a very small movement of the air

fighting/struggling for breath — almost unable to breathe

He lay there in terrible pain, fighting for breath.

someone's last/final breath — literary the moment when someone dies

She would fight to her last breath to protect her heritage.

- a breath of fresh air

- don't hold your breath

- don't waste your breath

- hold your breath

- in the same breath

- out of breath

- take your breath away

- under your breath

See:

bad breath, catch I, save I