Quick Summary on “Breath” and “Breathe”
- Breath (noun) refers to the air you inhale and then exhale. Breathe (verb) refers to the act of inhaling air into your lungs and then exhaling it.
- ○ The doctor told me to take a deep breath. (Noun)
- ○ The doctor told me to breathe deeply. (Verb)
“Breath” vs. “Breathe”
It is breaths or breathes? To breath or to breathe? Breath in or breathe in?
Breath and breathe are somewhat tricky words because they’re spelled so similarly. Below, we’ll go over what these words mean and their correct usage, so you’ll be able to answer all the questions above.
How To Spell “Breath”
Take a moment to inhale deeply for three seconds, and then exhale deeply for three seconds.
Breath /breθ/ is a noun that refers to the air you just inhaled and exhaled.
Breath is spelled b-r-e-a-t-h and sounds like “breth” when pronounced out loud.
If someone tells you that your breath smells bad (it happens to the best of us), they mean that the air you are emitting when you speak smells unpleasant.
The plural form of breath is breaths.
I offered him gum because his breath was kicking.
The meditation class taught us to take mindful breaths.
Paul suggested I take a few deep breaths when I started feeling nauseous.
How To Spell “Breathe”
Breathe /briːð/ is a verb that refers to the act of inhaling and exhaling air into your lungs.
This word is spelled b-r-e-a-t-h-e and sounds like “breeth” when pronounced out loud. The final “e” in this word is a silent “e.”
The room smelled so bad that I couldn’t breathe.
She was nervous and breathing loudly.
Thomas breathed deeply before continuing his presentation.
Remember, breathe is only ever used as a verb.
The nurse told me to breathe deeply when I started feeling dizzy.
The nurse told me to breath deeply when I started feeling dizzy.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breath in and breath out.
Breathe Easy
Are you familiar with the phrase breathe easy?
It’s a colloquial expression that means to “relax” or “feel relieved from anxiety or stress.”
You can breathe easy knowing your money is safe.
This expression can help you remember the difference between breath and breathe because breathe and easy both end with an “e,” and breath easy just doesn’t flow as smoothly.
If you need some more practice before you truly understand the difference between these words, don’t worry. LanguageTool can help you breathe easy by ensuring flawless text. This multilingual spelling and grammar checker can make sure you’re using breath and breathe correctly, and can also check for a multitude of other errors.
