Breathing
['briːðɪŋ] or ['briðɪŋ]
Definition
(noun.) the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation.
(adj.) passing or able to pass air in and out of the lungs normally; sometimes used in combination; 'the boy was disappointed to find only skeletons instead of living breathing dinosaurs'; 'the heavy-breathing person on the telephone' .
Checker: Sumner--From WordNet
Definition
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Breathe
(n.) Respiration; the act of inhaling and exhaling air.
(n.) Air in gentle motion.
(n.) Any gentle influence or operation; inspiration; as, the breathings of the Spirit.
(n.) Aspiration; secret prayer.
(n.) Exercising; promotion of respiration.
(n.) Utterance; communication or publicity by words.
(n.) Breathing place; vent.
(n.) Stop; pause; delay.
(n.) Also, in a wider sense, the sound caused by the friction of the outgoing breath in the throat, mouth, etc., when the glottis is wide open; aspiration; the sound expressed by the letter h.
(n.) A mark to indicate aspiration or its absence. See Rough breathing, Smooth breathing, below.
Editor: Simon
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Respiration.[2]. Aspiration, wish, desire, longing, craving, yearning.
a. Living, alive, live, not dead.
Edited by Bessie
Examples
- From the interior a low soft breathing came to his ear. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- And when Our Johnny gets his breathing again, I turns again, and we all goes on together. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I listened to the patient's breathing, and avoided answering. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- But tonight every fibre in her body shrank from Lily's nearness: it was torture to listen to her breathing, and feel the sheet stir with it. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- We talk of breathing air, but what all living things really do is to breathe oxygen dissolved in water. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- By heaven, he is the proudest fellow breathing. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Her usually quiet breathing had grown quicker with his words. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I would not change you for the clearest-headed, longest-sighted, best-judging female breathing. Jane Austen. Emma.
- She could feel his breathing, and he, of course, could feel hers. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Presently I saw his blue lips again, breathing on the tinder, and then a flare of light flashed up, and showed me Orlick. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- It is impossible to express with what acuteness I felt the convict's breathing, not only on the back of my head, but all along my spine. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Often he jeopardized his life, and once nearly lost it, by breathing carburetted hydrogen. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- They are not open, fervent, eloquent epistles, breathing nothing but the language of affectionate attachment. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- He lay in the mud on the side of the embankment, his feet pointing downhill, breathing blood irregularly. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Breathing was difficult. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- How the touch of those warm arms, the gentle breathings that came in her neck, seemed to add fire and spirit to her movements! Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Her slow deep breathings dilated her thin and beautiful nostrils; it was the only motion visible on her countenance. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
Checker: Ronnie