hold one's breath
"hold-one-s-breath" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hold one's breath” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, one's, breath. To keep air in one's lungs, pausing noticeably before exhaling after previously inhaling.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hold-one-s-breath · hold one's breath · English
hold one's breath · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hold one's breath |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hold one's breath” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hold one's breath is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hold one's breath, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is hold one's breath, spelled H-O-L-D- -O-N-E-'-S- -B-R-E-A-T-H.
Definition
- 1Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, one's, breath. To keep air in one's lungs, pausing noticeably before exhaling after previously inhaling.
- 2To wait expectantly for something to happen soon.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hold one's breath appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He might pay back the money he borrowed without you reminding him, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Petraeus hoped they would succeed, and lent his support, but he was not holding his breath.
This word in other languages
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.