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
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
While the games themselves won’t go away, one change may be the timing of them, especially the SEC’s late-season, collective breathers.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
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
While the games themselves won’t go away, one change may be the timing of them, especially the SEC’s late-season, collective breathers.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breathers
Noun
-
Taking intentional pauses is key, too.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The pauses are just as much dialogue as the words.—
Beatrice Verhoeven,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
That led to a couple of scoring lulls, especially in the first half.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
-
For instance, why did the offense experience so many extended lulls against opposing bullpens (even as, in another contradiction, its overall performance against bullpens was in line with 2024)?—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
As Peter takes his final breaths, the limited series jumps back in time to show Marissa secretly removing the emergency kit from their car and pulling an expired EpiPen out of their home's disposal box.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Hold for five breaths on each foot.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Imagine me at lunch or dinner breaks on that movie, sitting between the two of them—Peyton and Bradley—knowing little to nothing about football.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Homecooked meals with Lido’s parents and dips into the nearby fjord filled the gaps during recording breaks.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathers. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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