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
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
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
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Bakri litters these lines with pauses and sighs, a simmer rather than an explosion.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
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Medicaid currently does pre-reviews of payments for non-emergency medical transportation because of fraud in that field, and the pauses for review are typically less than three months, Flores-Brennan said.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Referring to the decline in permits approved, ECMC Director Julie Murphy said there were lulls as everyone adjusted course.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
18 Mar. 2026
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Acting in a movie involves a lot of waiting around, too—as the crew repositions cameras and adjusts the lighting, among other things—and those lulls provided me with plenty of time to feel queasy with anxiety.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Texas fans may have held their collective breaths when senior guard Rori Harmon appeared to hurt her right hand midway through the first quarter.—
Danny Davis,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Mar. 2026
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The American Red Cross recommends a rate of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute, given 30 at a time with two breaths in between.—
Julia James,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Jeep driver slammed on the breaks and reversed, crashing into the front of Acosta’s patrol car and sped off, leaving the gate pieces on the road.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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During one of the day’s breaks, Tappin won a gift bag, including a flat iron, after answering a question correctly.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathers. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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