breather

English

Etymology

From breathe +‎ -er (agent noun suffix) or +‎ -er (relational noun suffix).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɹiː.ðə(ɹ)/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːðə(ɹ)

Noun

breather (plural breathers)

  1. Something or someone that breathes.
  2. (specifically) A heavy breather.
    • 1981 April 25, Martin H. Krieger, “Phone Calls”, in Gay Community News, page 12:
      Most of us make sense of the world through talk and sight, and breathers represent that most anxiety provoking experience, nothingness with a hint of possibility.
  3. A short break; a rest or respite.
    After a short breather she was ready to continue up the hill.
    • 2025, “Spike Island”, in More, performed by Pulp:
      I took a breather and decided not to ruin my life
  4. (physics) A spatially localized, time-periodic excitation in a one-dimensional lattice.
  5. (colloquial, dated) That which puts one out of breath, such as violent exercise.
  6. (mechanics) An air inlet path to the crankcase

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