as in pause
a momentary halt in an activity
took a breather from the seemingly endless task of sorting through years of stuff stored in the attic
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Recent Examples of breather
No vet days, no breather subs late in a game.
—
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Some of the episode’s interiors were built alongside the regular Widow’s Bay sets, so breaks for her –– while costumed in 18th century clothing –– were spent taking a breather on a city hall desk or lounging on a couch that would certainly be out of place in 1702.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 27 May 2026
There was no benefit of a breather after long innings for Peterson either.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 27 May 2026
In the meantime, Durán also caught Canning’s ramp-up starts at Triple-A El Paso, so that was an opportunity to give Fermin an extra breather.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for breather
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
Some of the episode’s interiors were built alongside the regular Widow’s Bay sets, so breaks for her –– while costumed in 18th century clothing –– were spent taking a breather on a city hall desk or lounging on a couch that would certainly be out of place in 1702.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 27 May 2026
There was no benefit of a breather after long innings for Peterson either.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 27 May 2026
In the meantime, Durán also caught Canning’s ramp-up starts at Triple-A El Paso, so that was an opportunity to give Fermin an extra breather.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for breather
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breather
Noun
-
That pause is the whole story for anyone who holds an insurance policy, because some of the rules in the firing line decide how the algorithms that price your cover are allowed to behave.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
If someone urges you to splurge, smile, breathe, and pause.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
But by Sunday morning, residents in southern Lebanon reported a lull in Israeli strikes.—
Victoria Eastwood,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
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Intense fighting broke out on Friday morning after a relative lull in fighting following the announcement of the MOU.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
Barely 20 minutes into the game, the crowd suddenly gets quiet as people hold their breaths in anticipation.—
The Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
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But there’s a particular beauty and serenity along this two to three-hour tubing run down the Winooski River from Burlington to Richmond in the Green Mountain State that will take your breath away as much as the refreshing waters do.—
Terry Ward,
Travel + Leisure,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson have been subbed off in the 73rd minute, just after the players returned from the hydration break.—
Monica Alba,
NBC news,
24 June 2026
-
Summer schedules, school breaks and birthday parties all share one thing in common.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breather. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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