bated breath

bate breath

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [beyt breth]
- /beɪt brɛθ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [beyt breth]
- /beɪt brɛθ/

Definitions of bated breath words

verb with object bated breath to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm. 1
verb with object bated breath to lessen or diminish; abate: setbacks that bated his hopes. 1
verb without object bated breath to diminish or subside; abate. 1
idioms bated breath with bated breath, with breath drawn in or held because of anticipation or suspense: We watched with bated breath as the runners approached the finish line. 1

See all 4 definitions of bated breath

Information block about the term

Origin of bated breath

First appearance:

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English, aphetic variant of abate

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Bated breath

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Bated breath

bated breath popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 86% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

bated breath usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for bated breath

noun bated breath

expectancy — The state of thinking or hoping that something, especially something pleasant, will happen or be the case.
expectation — A strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

All 2 Synonyms of bated breath