Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - breathe

~ v 1 »AIR« to take air into your lungs and send it out again  (When you get an asthma attack you can't breathe. | People are concerned about the quality of the air they breathe. | breathe deeply (=take in a lot of air)) 2 »BLOW« to blow air or smoke out of your mouth + on  (Roy breathed on his hands and rubbed them together vigorously.) breathe sth over sb  (The fat man opposite was breathing garlic all over me.) 3 breathe again/more easily to relax because something dangerous or frightening has finished  (The all-clear was given and we could breathe again.) 4 breathe a sigh of relief to no longer be worried about something that had been worrying or frightening you 5 breathe down sb's neck to pay very close attention to what someone is doing in a way that makes them feel nervous or annoyed  (How can I concentrate with you breathing down my neck all the time?) 6 not breathe a word to not tell anyone anything at all about something, because it is a secret  (Don't breathe a word, it's supposed to be a surprise.) 7 »WINE« if you let wine breathe, you open the bottle to let the air get to it before you drink it 8 »SAY STH QUIETLY« to say something very quietly, almost in a whisper  ("Wait," he breathed.") 9 breathe your last literary to die 10 breathe life/excitement/enthusiasm into sth to change a situation so that people feel more excited or interested  (Let's hope Doug can breathe a bit of life into these rather dull people.) 11 breathe fire to behave and talk very angrily breathe in phr v 1 to take air into your lungs  (The doctor made me breathe in while he listened to my chest.) 2 T breathe something in) to breathe air, smoke, a particular kind of smell etc into your lungs  (They may be in danger of breathing in asbestos dust.) breathe out phr v 1 to send air out from your lungs  (Jim breathed out deeply.) 2 T breathe something out) to send out air, oxygen, a particular kind of smell etc  (Green plants breathe out oxygen in sunlight.)