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breathing place

breathing place

4.8
A short time to rest and feel less stressed
  • noun
translation icon : espacio de respiro
  • The unexpected delay provided a much-needed breathing place in their hectic schedule.

Examples

  • After hours of tense negotiation, the teams finally had a breathing place to collect their thoughts.

  • She welcomed the breathing place offered between meetings during the busy conference.

  • I need a breathing place after this long meeting.

  • This park is a perfect breathing place for me.

  • After hours of intense negotiations, the teams finally found a breathing place to regroup and strategize.

  • The unexpected storm provided a brief breathing place for the hikers to rest before continuing their journey.

  • During finals week, she appreciated the breathing place between exams to relax and recharge.

Synonyms

breath
vsbreathing place
224 1.0

A short rest or pause between activities

is a fuller short rest offering more relief than a quick pause for regrouping
breather
vsbreathing place
  • Informal
31 3.4

A short rest to recover energy

is used for relief specifically from difficulty or stress rather than just activity
breathing room
vsbreathing place
16 3.8

Extra space or time that lets you relax and think

is a short period of rest rather than an allowance of space or freedom
breathing space
vsbreathing place
  • Formal
1 3.5

A short time to rest or think when you feel pressure

is limited to a brief time of rest rather than a broader situation
breathing time
vsbreathing place
1 4.3

A short rest to get energy before continuing a difficult task

is a general short relief not specifically happening before resuming activity
breathing spell
vsbreathing place
4.2

A short time to rest from work or trouble

is for relief from any difficult or stressful situation, not only work

Antonyms

704 2.8

A feeling of pressure and worry because of difficult situations

482 3.4

A heavy load or something that causes worry and difficulty

How Long

respite
25 7.2
breathing place
4.8
breather
  • Informal
31 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

breathe + place

The sense 'a short period of rest' is directly inferable from combining 'breathe' (to get relief/restore) with 'place' (a spot or room), yielding the idea of a spot/time to breathe. This composition follows the common metaphor of having 'room/space to breathe' found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily understand the meaning even if 'breathing space' is the more usual collocation.

Etymology

Breathing place comes from the simple image of finding a quiet spot to take a breath, with breathing meaning taking air and place meaning a spot. That's why it now means 'a short rest' or 'a little relief'.