breather

noun

breath·​er ˈbrē-t͟hər 

1

: one that breathes

2

: a break in activity for rest or relief

3

: a small vent in an otherwise airtight enclosure

Synonyms

• break
• breath
• interruption
• lull
• pause
• recess

Examples of breather in a Sentence

He decided to give them a breather.

took a breather from the seemingly endless task of sorting through years of stuff stored in the attic

Recent Examples on the Web

But the initial bumpiness of the playing got worse as the night went on, and even though the bandmembers got a 15-minute breather while Young played several classics acoustically late in the set, the break didn’t help much. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 16 May 2024

Hence the sub pattern in Game 1 and Game 2, featuring a few minutes of Watson alongside Jokic while Gordon was getting a breather. —Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 14 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

breather

noun

breath·​er ˈbrē-t͟hər 

1

: one that breathes

2

: a pause for rest : break

Medical Definition

breather

noun

breath·​er ˈbrē-t͟hər 

: one that breathes usually in a specified way see mouth breather