as in pauses
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 breathers
For both air breathers and water breathers, many chemicals in crude oil target the heart and respiratory function, the immune system, the sensory system and the central nervous system.
—
Asuka Koda, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026
Mouth breathers tend to carry their head forward to open the airway, a subtle shift that can become its own habitual pattern.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Lopez or Joseph-Day would be a rotational run-stuffing nose tackle who could allow Walker to get some breathers or line up elsewhere.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Its one-take formula is made to break you — there are no breathers, the intensity simply keeps building to its apex.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025
One is called the 'wonderful whimsy,' (with) fire breathers, jugglers, tarot card readers.
—Tony Peterson, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
Asuka Koda, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026
Mouth breathers tend to carry their head forward to open the airway, a subtle shift that can become its own habitual pattern.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Lopez or Joseph-Day would be a rotational run-stuffing nose tackle who could allow Walker to get some breathers or line up elsewhere.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Its one-take formula is made to break you — there are no breathers, the intensity simply keeps building to its apex.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025
One is called the 'wonderful whimsy,' (with) fire breathers, jugglers, tarot card readers.
—Tony Peterson, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breathers
Noun
-
Business major Andrea Lui found the chatbot’s voice to be surprisingly human, but the conversation felt choppy with odd pauses.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Business major Andrea Lui found the chatbot’s voice to be surprisingly human, but the conversation felt choppy with odd pauses.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Not all parts of the country seem to have the same pattern, although the data points to school breaks as relative lulls.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
18 Apr. 2026
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The Horned Frogs will have to figure out how to avoid the offensive lulls that have plagued them over the last month, including in the last two rounds of the Big 12 tournament.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Talked to some of the higher gods above, give them my thanks and just take a few breaths and get ready for the arena.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
-
Hitchcock blinked rapidly as the drugs began flowing and took several deep breaths.—
Jeffrey Collins,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There were references to Christian faith and the Magna Carta and — drawing one of the many breaks for applause — supportive words on the crucial tenet of checks and balances.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
-
When the hype cycle breaks, consumers don’t blame the brands.—
Robert Johnson,
Rolling Stone,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathers. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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