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Glite Dictionary
to draw one's last breath

to draw one's last breath

2 8.1
To breathe for the last time before you die
  • idiom
translation icon : dar el último suspiro
  • Perhaps he had drawn his last breath, exhaled nothing but a space to be filled.

Examples

  • Richard p110 now till she drew her last breath.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • God knows when we will draw our last breath, but we don't have a clue.

    Blog text (31)

  • Timothy McVeigh drew his last breath there in 2001.

    Academic text (2006)

  • They say as a Dragon Rider draws his last breath... ...he can hear the dying screams of his dragon.

    Eragon (2006)

  • He felt at peace as he lay down to draw his last breath surrounded by loved ones.

  • As the sun set, she knew it was time for her to draw her last breath and embrace the end.

  • The doctor declared him gone, saying he had finally drawn his last breath after a long battle.

Synonyms

to breathe one's last
vsto draw one's last breath
  • Literature
2 7.9

To stop living

is the same meaning but uses a slightly longer more formal phrase
to close one's eyes for the last time
vsto draw one's last breath
1 8.5

To stop living

focuses on the physical last breath rather than a gentle image

Antonyms

to live
∞ 1.0

To continue to be alive

Surface Forms

draw one's last breath infinitive
drawing one's last breath present participle
draws one's last breath third person singular
drew one's last breath past
drawn one's last breath past participle

Morphology

draw + one's + last + breath

The phrase literally combines 'draw' (inhale), 'last' (final) and 'breath' (air), so the meaning 'to take one's final breath' and thus 'to die' is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional pattern (taking a final breath = dying) is cross-linguistically common, so an average B1 learner who knows the words would understand it.

Etymology

Draw one's last breath comes from the simple image of a person drawing their last breath, taking one final breath of air before they stop living. So it means 'to die'.