breathing

/ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/

//ˈbɹiːðɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"breathing" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breathing” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,429. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,429
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - verbal noun of breathe: (uncountable) The act of respiration; (countable) a single instance of this.

Corpus desk

Index EN-breathing · breathing · English

breathing · rank #4,429 · 14 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,429
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bloody

Nearest frequency peer: bloody (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “breathing”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “breathing” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

breathing vs beating
78% similar
breathing vs bathing
78% similar
breathing vs breaking
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for breathing
PropertyValue
Headwordbreathing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,429
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “breathing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).breathinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “bloody” (#4,428), “butt” (#4,430), “bass” (#4,427). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “breathing” is #4,429. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around breathing (IPA /ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,429 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for breathing, with forms such as "bbreathing", "berathing", and "braething". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "beating", "bathing", "breaking", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From breathe + -ing. The correct English form is breathing, spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    verbal noun of breathe: (uncountable) The act of respiration; (countable) a single instance of this.
  2. 2
    A diacritical mark indicating aspiration or lack thereof.
  3. 3
    Time to recover one's breath; hence, a delay, a spell of time.
  4. 4
    Any gentle influence or operation; inspiration.
  5. 5
    Aspiration; secret prayer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how breathing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] their breathings, cryings, and excretings would have been damaged […]
  2. DON PEDRO. Count Claudio, when mean you to go to church? / CLAUDIO. To-morrow, my lord. Time goes on crutches till love have all his rites. / LEONATO. Not till Monday, my dear son, which is hence a just seven-night; and a time too brief too, to have all things answer my mind. / DON PEDRO. Come, you shake the head at so long a breathing; but, I warrant the…

Etymology

From breathe + -ing.

This word in other languages

respiración(Español)respiration(Français)Atmen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbreathing
  • berathing
  • braething
  • breahting
  • breathhing
  • breathign
  • breathingg
  • breathinng
  • breathnig
  • breatihng
  • breatthing
  • bretahing
  • brreathing
  • rbeathing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of breathing - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bbreathing1berathing2braething2breahting2breathhing1breathign2breathingg1breathinng1
Edit distance from "breathing"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breathing"?
"breathing" is spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/.
What does "breathing" mean?
As a noun, "breathing" means: verbal noun of breathe: (uncountable) The act of respiration; (countable) a single instance of this.
What words are commonly confused with "breathing"?
"breathing" is commonly confused with "beating", "bathing", "breaking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "breathing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breathing" is /ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "breathing"?
From breathe + -ing. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "breathing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

witnesses#4,421daughters#4,439dependent#4,440Edinburgh#4,444

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

lifestyle14 variantsguaranteed14 variantspromoting14 variantsfranchise14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list