What does breathe mean?
Breathe is an English verb meaning to draw air into the lungs and expel it again — the fundamental act of respiration that sustains life. Beyond its literal sense, the word extends into vivid figurative territory: we say fabrics and leathers can breathe when they let air circulate, that a project breathes new life into something when it revitalizes it, and that someone didn't breathe a word when they kept a secret. The verb derives from Old English brǣthan, related to the noun breath, and the pair remains one of English's most commonly confused spellings — breath is the noun with a short vowel and unvoiced -th, breathe the verb with a long vowel and voiced -th. Common idioms include breathing a sigh of relief and breathing down someone's neck. Neutral in tone, the word appears everywhere from medical writing to everyday conversation, making its correct spelling and pronunciation essential.
verbTo draw air into and expel it from the lungs; to inhale and exhale as a necessary act of respiration.
- To take air into the lungs and expel it; to respire.
- To be alive; to live (often figuratively, as in a room where one can hardly breathe).
- To utter quietly or indirectly; to reveal subtly (e.g. "she didn't breathe a word of it").
- (Of fabric, leather, or skin) To allow air or moisture to pass through.
"She paused at the summit to breathe in the crisp mountain air."
"After holding his breath underwater for nearly two minutes, he surfaced and breathed deeply."
"The leather is treated so that it can breathe, keeping your feet comfortable all day."
That silent final 'e' in breathe isn't decoration — it's what lengthens the vowel and voices the th, turning the noun 'breath' into the very act of living.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of breathe
Breathe descends from the Old English verb brǣthan, formed from the noun brǣth ("breath, vapour, odour"), which shares a common Germanic root with words like Old High German brādam ("breath, vapour"). It has been part of the language continuously since the earliest stages of English, with its core respiratory sense unchanged across a millennium of use. Its closest modern relative within English is the noun "breath", from the same Old English stock.
Related word forms
How breathe is actually used
"Breathe" is neutral in register and used in both literal and richly figurative ways. The spelling distinction from "breath" is a persistent source of error even among native speakers. In figurative uses such as "breathe a word," the verb carries a sense of secrecy or restraint rather than physical respiration.
Easily confused with breathe
"Breath" is the noun referring to the air taken in or out of the lungs, while "breathe" is the verb describing the act of breathing; the noun has a voiceless -th ending (/breθ/) and the verb a voiced -th (/briːð/).