to take a breather
14
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ə ˈbriːðər/
- Informal
:
tomar un respiro
- After running for an hour, I decided to take a breather on the bench to catch my breath.
- just take a breather
- stop to take a breather
- want to take a breather
And it's like, yo, take a breather, take a step back.
- And it's like, yo, take a breather, take a step back.
- So what if we all just took a breather?
- I'm I'm really stressed and maybe I need to like slow down and take a breather.
- They just been, I mean, if you know, you could gently just stop and the masseuse could just like take a breather, right.
- So take a step back, take a breather, look at what everybody else is doing, see if it even makes sense.
Examples
-
But most importantly, you need to take a breather, decompress, and hit your reset button.
Blog text (27) -
But work can be hard, and maybe there's nothing wrong with taking a breather every so often.
Blog text (13) -
And it's like, yo, take a breather, take a step back.
-
So take a step back, take a breather, look at what everybody else is doing, see if it even makes sense.
-
All right, you take a breather, we'll do it again.
-
I think we gotta take a breather.
-
Yes, there will be times you take a breather and sit out for a few plays.
Blog text (1) -
Also, I got about a minute into your video before I had to stop and take a breather.
Blog text (7) -
No, I'm taking a breather from all that tonight.
-
So I thought we should all just take a breather and I'm going to give you some tips on dealing with stress.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To feel less nervous and more calm
816
1.0
To stop activity to relax or sleep and get energy back
496
1.4
To stop doing something for a short time to rest or relax before continuing
99
4.9
To relax and become calm after you feel upset
98
3.4
Stop for a short time to think, rest or remember something
40
2.5
To go outside to breathe fresh air after being inside for a while
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
32
3.7
Pause to breathe normally after hard exercise or a shock
28
4.2
Have a short break for about five minutes
25
2.6
To take a short break to rest
24
3.2
Stop what you are doing to rest or do something different for a short time
13
5.5
To sit down and rest after standing or working
3
4.1
To rest or do something fun to get energy again
2
4.3
Temporarily stop an activity to rest or think
1
5.1
A short ten-minute break during work or rehearsal
1
3.6
Rest or take a break to get your energy back
To sit and rest for a short time and talk
To relax and become less active after a busy time
Antonyms
How Long
- US
36
3.0
26
2.6
703
1.0
496
1.4
- Informal
14
3.5
346
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to take a short break' is directly and transparently derived from the constituents: 'take' (have/undergo) + 'breather' (a brief pause), following the productive English pattern 'take a + noun' meaning to have or take something. There is no strong metaphorical shift and the phrase maps straightforwardly to similar 'have a rest' constructions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Take a breather comes from the simple image of stopping to take a breather, a quick breath after hard work or exercise. When you literally take a breather to catch your breath, you pause for a short time, so the phrase means 'to take a short break'.