to let out a sigh
3
2.3
- phrasal verb
:
suspirar
- Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh.
- let out a sigh of relief
Examples
-
Delia gives her a supportive pat on the back, and Evan lets out a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1991) -
After a long day at work, she let out a sigh, feeling relieved to finally be home.
-
His wife let out a sigh.
Fiction book (1996) -
The second I saw David hit the sand, I let out a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1998) -
Joe let out a sigh of relief when Bull closed the door after him.
Fiction book (1998) -
Belinda didn't answer, just let out a sigh.
Fiction book (1996) -
Hector stops the car outside Janet's house and lets out a sigh of relief.
Fiction book (1993) -
A shaken Lloyd lets out a sigh of relief, and we cut to: EXT.
Fiction book (1994) -
As soon as he heard the good news, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
-
When the test was over, the students let out a sigh, feeling the stress wash away.
Synonyms
131
1.0
To breathe out slowly so others can hear because you feel tired, sad, or relieved
How Emotional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'let' (allow/release) + 'out' (outward, emit) + 'sigh' (audible breath) yields 'emit a sigh' or 'release a sigh'. This event-denoting construction (let out + noun for an emitted sound/gesture) is common in English and many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Let out a sigh comes from the simple act of letting your breath go in a long, soft sound, because to let out means to let a breath go and a sigh is that deep breath people make when they feel relief, tiredness, or disappointment. So let out a sigh now means 'to make a long breath that shows a feeling like relief, tiredness, or disappointment'.