to take a breath
67
1.0
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ə brɛθ/
:
respirar
- As she prepared for the performance, she closed her eyes and took a breath to calm her nerves.
When someone asked a question, take a breath, Let it land.
- When someone asked a question, take a breath, Let it land.
- When you take a breath in, you're bringing in oxygen.
- And it was like I could take a breath.
- And yet take a breath and just say OK wait a minute.
- For the first time ever, I took a breath and I thought about what that meant.
- OK, I'm free to just take a breath here.
- So I invite you to breathe in, take a breath in, and breathe out a few times.
- They shut it down until people can kind of take a breath.
- Again, in normal relationships, when they end, people do take a breath for a minute.
- And then when your heart's just about to kick off and you, you take a breath and you go, I'm sorry, what'd you say, Doc?
- And I think there's a reason, of course, horn players have to take a breath too.
- Take a moment, take a whiff, take a breath of that fresh from under.
- Every time you take a breath, that's nature.
Examples
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Every time you take a breath, that's nature.
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So let's just stop and take a breath and think about why this makes sense.
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So I need to take a breath here and enjoy this moment.
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For the first time ever, I took a breath and I thought about what that meant.
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Next time you take a breath, say thank you, plants, you can do it.
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I guess if you could just kind of like take a breath, that would be great.
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When you hear the name of a person and you hear them telling their story, you stop, You take a breath, you listen.
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We just need to take a breath.
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I just think you should take a breath and think this through.
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- So let's just all take a breath.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To take air into the lungs and let it out
103
2.7
Pull air slowly into your lungs to calm yourself
84
2.7
To breathe in air, smoke, or gas into your lungs
54
1.0
To take air into your lungs through your nose or mouth
2
6.2
To take air into your lungs quickly when you feel surprised, afraid, or before hard work
1
6.0
To breathe in and out to take in oxygen and let out carbon dioxide
Antonyms
How Deep
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + a + breath
The phrase's meaning — to draw in air once or deliberately — is directly and compositionally derived from the known words 'take' + 'a' + 'breath'; there is no idiomatic shift or metaphor that obscures the sense. This is a common, literal collocation found across many languages, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The phrase take a breath comes from the simple action of stopping and breathing in air; you take a breath to calm yourself and feel ready. So when people say take a breath they mean 'pause' and 'gather your thoughts' before you speak or act.