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the act of a person or other animal that breathes; respiration.
a single breath.
the short time required for a single breath.
a pause, as for breath.
utterance or words.
a gentle moving or blowing, as of wind.
Classical Greek Grammar.

the manner of articulating the beginning of a word written with an initial vowel sign, with or without aspiration before the vowel.
one of the two symbols used to indicate this.
Compare rough breathing, smooth breathing.

to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire.
(in speech) to control the outgoing breath in producing voice and speech sounds.
to pause, as for breath; take rest:
How about giving me a chance to breathe?
to move gently or blow lightly, as air.
to live; exist:
Hardly a man breathes who has not known great sorrow.
to be redolent of.
(of a material) to allow air and moisture to pass through easily:
The jacket is comfortable because the fabric breathes.
(of the skin) to absorb oxygen and give off perspiration.
(of a wine) to be exposed to air after being uncorked, in order to develop flavor and bouquet.
to inhale and exhale in respiration.
to exhale:
Dragons breathe fire.
to inject as if by breathing; infuse:
She breathed life into the party.
to give utterance to; whisper.
to express; manifest.
to allow to rest or recover breath:
to breathe a horse.
to deprive of breath; tire; exhaust.
to cause to pant; exercise.
breathe down someone’s neck,

to be close to someone in pursuit; menace; threaten:
Police from four states were breathing down his neck.
to watch someone closely so as to supervise or control:
If everyone keeps breathing down my neck, how can I get my work done?

breathe freely, to have relief from anxiety, tension, or pressure:
Now that the crisis was over, he could breathe freely.
Also, breathe easily, breathe easy.
breathe one’s last, to die:
He breathed his last and was buried in the churchyard.
not breathe a word / syllable, to maintain secrecy; keep a matter confidential:
I’ll tell you if you promise not to breathe a word.
Contemporary Examples

How Did I Have a Stroke in My 20s? Elizabeth Gates August 21, 2010
Why HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare Website, Doesn’t Work Andrew Romano October 17, 2013
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Watchers on the Wall’: The Battle of Castle Black Is One For the Ages Andrew Romano June 8, 2014
Mazel Tov, Arvind! But Are You Sure It’s Not Kneydl? Daniel Gross May 30, 2013
The Thinking Man’s Rapper Touré March 5, 2009

Historical Examples

The Rich Little Poor Boy Eleanor Gates
Despoilers of the Golden Empire Gordon Randall Garrett
Tom Fairfield’s Hunting Trip Allen Chapman
The Three Commanders W.H.G. Kingston
Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

noun
the passage of air into and out of the lungs to supply the body with oxygen
a single breath: a breathing between words
an utterance: a breathing of hate
a soft movement, esp of air
a rest or pause
(phonetics)

expulsion of breath (rough breathing) or absence of such expulsion (smooth breathing) preceding the pronunciation of an initial vowel or rho in ancient Greek
either of two symbols indicating this

verb
to take in oxygen from (the surrounding medium, esp air) and give out carbon dioxide; respire
(intransitive) to exist; be alive: every animal that breathes on earth
(intransitive) to rest to regain breath, composure, etc: stop your questions, and give me a chance to breathe
(intransitive) (esp of air) to blow lightly: the wind breathed through the trees
(intransitive) (machinery)

to take in air, esp for combustion: the engine breathes through this air filter
to equalize the pressure within a container, chamber, etc, with atmospheric pressure: the crankcase breathes through this duct

(transitive) (phonetics) to articulate (a speech sound) without vibration of the vocal cords Compare voice (sense 19)
to exhale or emit: the dragon breathed fire
(transitive) to impart; instil: to breathe confidence into the actors
(transitive) to speak softly; whisper: to breathe words of love
(transitive) to permit to rest: to breathe a horse
(intransitive) (of a material) to allow air to pass through so that perspiration can evaporate
breathe again, breathe freely, breathe easily, to feel relief: I could breathe again after passing the exam
breathe down someone’s neck, to stay close to someone, esp to oversee what they are doing: the cops are breathing down my neck
breathe one’s last, to die or be finished or defeated
v.

breathe down someone’s neck
breathe easy
breathe life into
breathe one’s last