breather

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbriðɚ/ UK /ˈbriːðə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a brief pause for rest

Let's take a breather before the next climb.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a brief pause for rest break rest pause respite breath lull interval

Word family

Related forms breathe breath breathable

Etymology

From breathe (from breath, Old English brǣþ) + the agent/instrument suffix -er, in the colloquial sense of a pause long enough to catch one's breath.

brǣþ Old English

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Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# breather

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈbriðɚ
**IPA (UK):** ˈbriːðə

## Meanings
1. a brief pause for rest

## Examples
- Let's take a breather before the next climb.

## Synonyms
- break
- rest
- pause
- respite
- breath
- lull
- interval

## Related Forms
- breathe
- breath
- breathable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brǣþ

## Etymology
From breathe (from breath, Old English brǣþ) + the agent/instrument suffix -er, in the colloquial sense of a pause long enough to catch one's breath.

## AI Etymology
Breather comes from breathe (from breath, Old English brǣþ) + the agent/instrument suffix -er, in the colloquial sense of a pause long enough to catch one's breath. The historical trail runs through Old English brǣþ. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. The later sense follows a semantic development already present in the word's history. In modern use it means a brief pause for rest. Related forms include breathe, breath, breathable.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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breather

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