# breathing

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɹiːðɪŋ/ · frequency rank #4,429

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

## Etymology
From breathe + -ing.

## Easily confused with
- **beating** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beating-vs-breathing)
- **bathing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathing-vs-breathing)
- **breaking** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breaking-vs-breathing)
- **bleaching** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleaching-vs-breathing)
- **breaching** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breaching-vs-breathing)

## Common misspellings (14)
`bbreathing`, `berathing`, `braething`, `breahting`, `breathhing`, `breathign`, `breathingg`, `breathinng`, `breathnig`, `breatihng`, `breatthing`, `bretahing`, `brreathing`, `rbeathing`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/breathing