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breaking wind

breaking wind

1 6.9
The act of letting gas out from the bottom, often with a sound
  • noun
  • /ˈbreɪkɪŋ wɪnd/
  • NSFW
translation icon : flatulencia
  • I said sinner, because many of these fellow travelers have thought nothing of breaking wind while they are breaking bread.

We're going to talk about farting flatulence, whereas some of you may call it breaking wind.

Examples

  • It's always tough to go on a date when you're always breaking wind.

  • It's hard to stay quiet when you're breaking wind in a small room.

  • "What is this obsession you have with breaking wind?"

  • Matthew was stirring downstairs, and Gator was down the hall now, breaking wind in the bathroom.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Everyone laughed when they heard him breaking wind during the meeting.

  • She quickly left the table after breaking wind without warning.

Synonyms

farting
vsbreaking wind
  • NSFW
12 7.7

To let gas pass out through the bottom of the body

is usually noisy rather than silent during the same act

Antonyms

65 4.5

To stop yourself from showing strong feelings

How Polite

toot
  • NSFW
1 5.7
breaking wind
  • NSFW
1 6.9
to pass gas
  • NSFW
5 5.9
farting
  • NSFW
12 7.7

Surface Forms

breaking wind singular

Morphology

breaking + wind

The meaning 'to fart' is directly derivable from combining 'breaking' (the act of causing something to break) with 'wind' (flatulence) — the gerund + noun composition transparently denotes the act of releasing wind. This euphemistic collocation follows ordinary compositional patterns and is likely to be understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

Breaking wind is a polite phrase that imagines trapped wind (air) inside the body being broken free and pushed out. That's why it means 'to fart'.