v., breathed, breath·ing, breathes. v.intr.
- To inhale and exhale air, especially when naturally and freely.
- To be alive; live: A nicer person has never breathed.
- To pause to rest or regain breath: Give me a moment to breathe.
- To move or blow gently, as air.
- To allow air to pass through: a natural fabric that breathes.
- To be exhaled or emanated, as a fragrance.
- To be manifested or suggested, as an idea or feeling: A sense of calm breathed from the landscape.
- To reach fullness of flavor and aroma through exposure to air. Used chiefly of wine.
- To require air in the combustion process. Used of an internal-combustion engine.
- To inhale and exhale (air, for example) during respiration.
- To inhale (an aroma, for example): breathe the lush scent of lilacs.
- To impart as if by breathing; instill: an artist who knows how to breathe life into a portrait.
- To exhale (something); emit.
- To utter, especially quietly: Don't breathe a word of this.
- To make apparent or manifest; suggest: Their manner breathed self-satisfaction.
- To allow (a person or animal) to rest or regain breath.
- Linguistics. To utter with a voiceless exhalation of air.
- To draw in (air) for the combustion process. Used of an internal-combustion engine.
breathe down (someone's) neck
- To threaten by proximity, especially by pursuing closely.
- To watch or monitor closely, often annoyingly: The boss was breathing down my neck all morning.
- To be relaxed or relieved, especially after a period of tension.
- To die.
[Middle English brethen, from breth, breath. See breath.]
Our Living Language The euphemistic expression breathe one's last illustrates a widespread linguistic and cultural phenomenon known as taboo avoidance. There are certain concepts that few people like to talk or think about, and death is certainly one of them. Such concepts are often expressed linguistically by the invention of circumlocutions or other substitutions for the word that expresses the concept directly (in this case, the verb to die), probably as a way of minimizing the power of the basic word for the concept. It is interesting to compare how two different styles of language, formal and slang, avoid saying “die.” More formal or elevated speech is full of euphemistic expressions such as breathe one's last, pass away, depart, expire, go to one's eternal reward, go the way of all flesh, and go to a better place. Many of these expressions try to cast death in a positive light, often with religious overtones. Speakers of slang are just as interested in avoiding the word die, partly for the same taboo-avoidance reasons and partly because of the general striving on the part of slang speakers to come up with novel expressions for old concepts. The result is a raft of irreverent expressions that are much more direct than the elevated ones—but not so direct as to actually say “die.” These expressions often concentrate on a particular physical aspect of dying, lending them an unusually vivid quality: croak, go belly up, kick the bucket, cash in one's chips, bite the dust, eat it, crap out.
