to breathe a sigh of relief
12
2.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
suspirar aliviado
- After weeks of anxiety about the exam, she finally breathed a sigh of relief when she learned she had passed.
- breathe a sigh of relief and smile
- breathe a sigh of relief now
- breathe a sigh of relief and sit back
And, you know, people breathed a sigh of relief and said, OK, great, now we have community gardens.
- And, you know, people breathed a sigh of relief and said, OK, great, now we have community gardens.
- And now I and my fellow Harvard Horizon Scholars can breathe a sigh of relief.
- And all those people, the rich and powerful, have breathed a sigh of relief when Epstein died suddenly in prison.
Examples
-
College lobbyists, for example, will probably breathe a sigh of relief if some Obama-era regulations fall by the wayside.
Academic text (2017) -
"Henry led me gallantly to a bench along a path, and I breathed a sigh of relief."
Fiction book (1999) -
London will breathe a sigh of relief.
-
But I think that once she is safe in the van, then the whole town can just breathe a sigh of relief.
-
When he finally began to speak, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1993) -
In unison, they breathe a sigh of relief and look at each other.
Fiction book (1993) -
Dennis looks up at the fighters, then breathes a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1990) -
After the scanner comes back down the cliff in one piece, everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
Academic text (2009) -
Kafka shuts the door behind him, breathes a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1991) -
When the footsteps passed their door without hesitation, Marissa and Wendy breathed a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To feel less nervous and more calm
131
1.0
To breathe out slowly so others can hear because you feel tired, sad, or relieved
99
4.9
To relax and become calm after you feel upset
39
3.7
To relax after a busy or stressful time and slowly come to an end
35
3.4
Become relaxed and less tense after work or a stressful time
16
4.2
Feel calm and not worried after someone reassures you
11
4.2
Relax and become less tense after work or stress
5
3.4
To feel relaxed and relieved after a worrying time
3
2.3
To breathe out slowly because you feel relieved, tired, or disappointed
2
8.6
Calm down and relax after feeling stressed or excited
Surface Forms
Morphology
breathe + a + sigh + of + relief
The phrase is directly compositional: 'breathe' (take a breath) + 'a sigh' (an audible breath expressing feeling) + 'of relief' (specifying the emotion). Because the parts combine in an ordinary, literal way and many languages use the same construction (e.g. Spanish, French), a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The idiom breathe a sigh of relief shows the image of someone who breathes in deeply and then lets out a long sigh when a danger or worry is over. So, the phrase means 'to feel great relief'.