breathe one's last

verb

"breathe-one-s-last" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breathe one's last” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To die.

Key facts for breathe one's last
PropertyValue
Headwordbreathe one's last
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “breathe one's last” sits in English frequency

breathe one's last falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

breathe one's last is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for breathe one's last in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps first used in Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3 (c. 1591). Compare breathe (“to live”). The correct English form is breathe one's last, spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-E- -O-N-E-'-S- -L-A-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To die.
  2. 2
    To be defeated.

Etymology

Perhaps first used in Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3 (c. 1591). Compare breathe (“to live”).

Synonyms

breathe one's last breathdraw one's last breath

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breathe one's last"?
"breathe one's last" is spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-E- -O-N-E-'-S- -L-A-S-T.
What does "breathe one's last" mean?
As a verb, "breathe one's last" means: To die.
What is the origin of the word "breathe one's last"?
Perhaps first used in Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3 (c. 1591). Compare breathe (“to live”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “breathe one's last”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-R-E-A-T-H-E- -O-N-E-'-S- -L-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list