Word.ws English Dictionary

holds one's breath

holds one's breath is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hold one's breath.

Meaning of hold one's breath

Verb

hold one's breath (third-person singular simple present holds one's breath, present participle holding one's breath, simple past and past participle held one's breath)

  1. 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.
  2. (idiomatic, usually in a negative) To wait expectantly for something to happen soon.
    • He might pay back the money he borrowed without you reminding him, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Questions about holds one's breath

What is holds one's breath the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Holds one's breath is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hold one's breath.

Words near holds one's breath in the dictionary

  1. holds it in
  2. holds it together
  3. holds off
  4. holds on
  5. holds one's alcohol
  6. holds one's breath
  7. holds one's drink
  8. holds one's fire
  9. holds one's head high
  10. holds one's horses
  11. holds one's jaw

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: holds one's breath (page history and authors); hold one's breath (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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