Word.ws English Dictionary

taking a breath

taking a breath is the present participle and gerund of take a breath.

Meaning of take a breath

Verb

take a breath (third-person singular simple present takes a breath, present participle taking a breath, simple past took a breath, past participle taken a breath)

  1. (idiomatic) to inhale and subsequently exhale air
    • She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
  2. (idiomatic) to pause or rest after strenuous activity
  3. (idiomatic) to calm down

Questions about taking a breath

What is taking a breath the present participle and gerund of?
Taking a breath is the present participle and gerund of take a breath.

Words near taking a breath in the dictionary

  1. taking a beat
  2. taking a bite
  3. taking a bite out of
  4. taking a bow
  5. taking a break
  6. taking a breath
  7. taking a breather
  8. taking a bullet
  9. taking a chair
  10. taking a chance
  11. taking a cotton to

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking a breath (page history and authors); take a 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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Cite this entry: “taking a breath.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taking_a_breath. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.