under someone's breath
- idiom
- Informal
:
en voz baja
- He always mutters his frustrations under his breath when dealing with annoying customers.
Examples
-
You said something under your breath.
-
[Jackie chuckles under her breath]
-
Muttering little prayers under her breath.
-
And they were whispering under their breaths.
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She complained about the meeting under her breath, hoping no one would hear her.
-
When he disagrees with the boss, he often does so under his breath to avoid confrontation.
Synonyms
517
1.0
In a quiet way that makes little or no noise
178
1.0
In a quiet, low voice or at low volume
8
5.7
In a quiet, secret way to avoid being seen
2
9.8
To speak quietly so others do not hear
2
6.3
So quietly that no one can hear
Saying words softly to yourself in your mind or under your breath
Speak quietly so other people nearby do not hear you
Antonyms
How Quiet
- Informal
35
1.9
178
1.0
43
2.0
129
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'in a very quiet voice' is directly derivable from 'under' (beneath/below) plus 'someone's breath' (the audible exhalation used for speaking), so the combined image clearly suggests speaking below the normal audible level. This manner-expression follows common compositional patterns and comparable concepts exist in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase under someone's breath comes from the image of words said so quietly they seem to come from under your breath. One simple idea is that a person moves their lips very little and speaks low so only people near can hear, so it means 'in a very quiet voice' or 'so that other people cannot hear'.