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
-
And at one point Stephanie pauses, carefully choosing words.—
Gerald Witt,
AJC.com,
1 Mar. 2026
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Audio deepfakes might include unnatural pauses or generate delays.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And not have lulls at this point.—
Kristian Winfield,
Hartford Courant,
1 Mar. 2026
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There were some lulls in the second half of the season, but the Seahawks rounded into form toward the end of the regular season.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Some feel better after taking deep breaths.—
Reem Raouda,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
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And that's a big thing, taking deep breaths and not allowing the game to speed up on you.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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About a two-hour drive south of Luanda, the Praia dos Surfistas (Surfers' Beach) is set on a broad bay with beginner-friendly breaks and a smattering of easygoing beachfront resorts.—
Melanie van Zyl,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Mar. 2026
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Including the specialized equipment that will fill the data center, Nebius will receive 98% real property tax breaks and 90% breaks on personal property.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathers. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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