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Glite Dictionary
to pant for air

to pant for air

3.5
To breathe quickly and loudly after hard exercise
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : jadeo
  • After running the marathon, she was panting for air and needed to take a moment to recover.

Examples

  • I run faster, the leather of my shoes cutting into my instep, the balls of my feet burning from the impact, my lungs panting for air.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Panting for air, he finally broke into an opening atop a large knoll and found a natural seat on the trunk of a fallen madrona.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • " It was hard, she found, to speak without panting for air.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Beverly's limbs softened on the verge of sleep when suddenly her breath halted, and she found herself panting for air as her head turned toward the open French doors leading to the garden.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He climbed the hill quickly and was panting for air by the time he reached the top.

  • The dog lay on the grass, panting for air after chasing the ball around the park.

Synonyms

to pant
vsto pant for air
95 1.6

To breathe quickly and loudly, often after exercise or excitement

is similar but occurs when air is scarce rather than being mainly noisy
to pant after
vsto pant for air
6.1

Breathe with short, fast breaths after hard exercise or excitement

is also used when air is scarce rather than only after exertion

Antonyms

to breathe easy
  • Informal
5 3.4

To feel relaxed and relieved after a worrying time

How Hard

gasp
312 1.8
to pant for air
3.5
to pant
95 1.6
to breathe
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

pant for air infinitive
panted for air past
panted for air past participle
panting for air present participle
pants for air third person singular

Morphology

pant + for + air

The meaning 'to breathe quickly and heavily' is directly and transparently derivable from the constituents: 'pant' (to breathe rapidly) combined with the purpose-like preposition 'for' and 'air' (what is being sought). This compositional structure is common cross-linguistically and follows an obvious purpose/recipient pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the words should understand the MWE.

Etymology

Pant for air comes from the clear picture of someone or a dog running with their mouth open and panting, trying to get more air. That's why it means 'to breathe quickly and heavily' after hard exercise or when there is little air.