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PlainSpell

breathe

/bɹið/verb

breathe is spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-E: 7 letters and one syllable. It appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “breath vs breathe” about 27,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, breathe means “To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in breathe?

Letters7: B-R-E-A-T-H-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing18 times per million words; the 4,589th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is breathe?

Breathe appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,589th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce breathe?

  • UK /bɹiːð/
  • US /bɹið/
  • Australia /bɹiːð/

Breathe has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-breathe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with breathe

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

breath vs breathe27,100 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with breathe?

3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as breathe from its last stressed vowel (/ið/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of breathe

  • breathes present, singular, he/she/it
  • breathing participle, present
  • breathed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does breathe mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.

  2. 2

    To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.

    Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.

  3. 3

    To inhale (a gas) to sustain life.

    While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.

  4. 4

    To live.

    I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.

  5. 5

    To draw something into the lungs.

    Try not to breathe too much smoke.

  6. 6

    To expel air from the lungs, exhale.

    If you breathe on a mirror, it will fog up.

  7. 7

    To exhale or expel (something) in the manner of breath.

    The flowers breathed a heady perfume.

  8. 8

    To give an impression of, to exude.

    The decor positively breathes classical elegance.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Breathe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrespirer, inspirer, expirer (to draw air in and out), reprendre son souffle (to stop and catch one's breath)
Germanatmen (to draw air in and out), einatmen (to draw into lungs), hauchen (to whisper quietly)
Portugueserespirar (to draw air in and out), cochichar, murmurar (to whisper quietly)
Spanishrespirar (to draw air in and out)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does breathe come from?

From Middle English brethen (“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), derived from Middle English breth (“breath”). Eclipsed Middle English ethien and orðiæn, from Old English ēþian and orþian (“to breathe”); as well as Middle English anden, onden, from Old Norse anda (“to breathe”). More at breath.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after breathe